Private tours by limousine in Oporto & surroundings
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Santiago de Compostela, Valença - full day
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Santiago de Compostela
In the Northwest of Spain, in the Celtic and green Galicia, tradition tells that there was the Apostle
Santiago, brother of Juan the Evangelist. When he returned to Palestine, in the year 44, it was tortured
and beheaded by Herodes Agripa, and he prohibited that Santiago would be buried. However their
pupils, secretly, during the night, they transferred his body to the seashore, where they found a boat
prepared to navigate but without crew. They deposited the apostle's body in a marble sepulchre, which
would arrive after its marine voyage, to river Ulla up to the Roman port of Flavia, in the Galician coast, the
capital of the Roman Galicia. There they buried his body in a compostum or cemetery in the near forest
of Liberum Donum, where they built a marble altar. In the year 813, the eremita Pelayo heard prays and
songs in the place. Based on this event he called the place Campus Stellae, or Field of the Star, where
the current name of Compostela comes from. King Alfonso II proclaimed the apostle Santiago patron
saint of the Kingdom, building a sanctuary there, that later would end up as being the Cathedral. From
then on, miracles and appearances would take place there, giving place to numerous histories and
legends to infuse the warriors that fought against the advances of Al-Andalus and to the pilgrims that little
by little went the way to Santiago. From the XI century onwards, Santiago exercised a strong attraction on
the European Christianity and it was a center of pilgrimage, to which kings, princes and saints went to. In
the XII and XIII centuries, the city reached its maximum splendour. The Pope Calixto II granted to the
Church Compostelana the Full Jubilee of the Holy Year and Alejandro III declared it perpetual,
becoming Santiago of Compostela “Saint City”, next to Jerusalem and Rome. The Holy Year takes place
every time that the Apostle's festivity, july 25th, falls on Sunday.
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia. Located in the northwest
region of Spain in the Province of A Coruña. The city's cathedral is the destination of the important medieval
pilgrimage route, the Way of St James (in Spanish the Camino de Santiago). Per year, over 100,000
pilgrims on foot, bicycle, donkey, or horseback come from over a 100 countries to claim their certificate
called a 'compostela', based on their pilgrim passport called a 'credencial', filled with stamps from the towns
they passed along the route. The credencial proves they have followed the route formally recognized by the
"Pilgrim Association of St. James." One of the popular routes is the Portuguese route or 'Camino
Portugués' (starts at Oporto and continues northwards crossing the rivers Lima and Minho where it enters
Spain. Still heading north, the river Ulla is crossed at Padron before arriving at Santiago).
The Cathedral of Santiago is the end of the pilgrim's journey and its monumentality is worthy of such a deed.
It is a key Romanesque work in which numerous architectonic styles converge, started in 1075.
Santiago de Compostela’s Old Quarter is often styled a ‘living museum’, with the Cathedral and other jewels
placed in a magnificent setting of winding paved and arcaded streets, granite walls and smaller monuments
that create a superb ambience. The Cathedral itself is flanked by several celebrated squares – Praza do
Obradoiro, Praza das Praterias, Praza da Quintana and Praza da Inmaculada. Picturesque avenues and
alleys radiate out from this centre, around which the city developed, to the other squares and sights of the
Old Quarter – the Convento de San Francisco, the University and the Praza de Cervantes.
Valença - Valença is a walled town located on the left bank of Minho River. Valença origins date back from
Roman times. This stronghold was populated by order of King Sancho I during the 12th century. It was called
Contrasta which means "village opposed to another", Tui (Spain) in this case. King Afonso III changed its
name to Valença in the 13th century. It's historical importance is mainly due to military constraints. Today the
town is invaded by tourist visits, with commercial and touristic purposes. The most interesting things to visit
are mainly inside the fortress that looks down to the Minho River and Spain. Valença's fortress is a piece of
gothic and baroque military architecture. It is placed on top of two small hills and it's formed by two polygons.
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These tours have a pick up at the main hotels of Oporto and have a guide driver in English, Spanish, German, French and Portuguese.
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