Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
Journey's end for a million pilgrims, where an eighty-kilogram censer swings the width of the transept.
Biblical significance
The cathedral was begun in 1075 over the tomb identified in the ninth century as that of St James the Greater. Behind the Baroque west front stands the Pórtico da Gloria, Master Mateo's Romanesque masterpiece of 200 figures. The Botafumeiro, hauled by eight tiraboleiros, reaches 68 km/h at the bottom of its arc — originally, it is said, to counteract the smell of the pilgrims.
Scripture
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Best time to go
25 July, the feast of St James; Botafumeiro at the Pilgrim's Mass on major feasts.
Visitor notes
Free entry. Pilgrim's Mass at noon daily. The Compostela is issued at the Pilgrim's Office nearby.
Coordinates
42.8806, -8.5446
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