In 2013, Andrea Guzzoletti started his first walk along the Camino de Santiago – a 900 km walk. The following year in 2014, he was again on the road walking the 1200 kms of The VÍA DE LA PLATA (Silver Way) or RUTA DE LA PLATA (Silver Route) which is an ancient commercial and pilgrimage path that crosses the west of Spain from Sevile in the South.
Last year he was once again on the trail, this time across 825km along Spains north coast to his final destination – the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain.
This week he starts again on his fourth attempt and this time it is the longest route he has so far tried – this time the 1700 km long – Le Puy Route or Chemin du Puy which starts near Lyon, France in the town of Le Puy-en-Velay
Once again as in the other years we will be following him every step of the way as he posts images, his thoughts and his position on the map as he makes his way to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain.
Throughout history, from all over Europe, pilgrims have walked to the saint’s tomb at Santiago de Compostela, stopping at shrines and inns along the way. Due to its size and common borders with so many other countries, France was the ideal place for pilgrims to gather for the long journey to Santiago.
Le Puy-en-Velay was one of these cities. Pilgrims would then follow well established pathways and roads towards the Spanish border.
The earliest records of visits paid to the shrine dedicated to St. James at Santiago de Compostela date from the 9th century, in the time of the Kingdom of Asturias. The pilgrimage to the shrine became the most renowned medieval pilgrimage, and it became customary for those who returned from Compostela to carry back with them a Galician scallop shell as proof of their completion of the journey. This practice was gradually extended to other pilgrimages.
In fact, the statue of San Rocco in Barga Giardino has prominently on his left shoulder, a large shell. An extremely interesting article by Frank Viviano explored that avenue with links between the Black Death and San Rocco.
This is what I want to share with all of you, it’s what I try to put into the music I make, it’s what I discovered walking alone, sharing my thoughts with those whose path I crossed, it’s what I’ve always thought but now am that. I realise I’m very fortunate, I have a lot of time to travel, to reflect, get to know different people and cultures, my life flows forth with many gratifications and also the odd disappointment, but that’s part of the game. I am connected to people I care deeply about all over the world, and I believe that I’ve reached an internal equilibrium which allows me to live well either on my own or in the company of somebody else – Andrea Guzzoletti
Camino de Santiago
The Way of St. James or St. James’ Way – In Spanish: El Camino de Santiago, is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried.
The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
The Way of St. James was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages during medieval times, together with Rome and Jerusalem, and a pilgrimage route on which a plenary indulgence could be earned;[1] other major pilgrimage routes include the Via Francigena to Rome and the pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
Legend holds that St. James’s remains were carried by boat from Jerusalem to northern Spain where he was buried on the site of what is now the city of Santiago de Compostela.
The Way can take one of any number of pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela. Traditionally, as with most pilgrimages, the Way of Saint James began at one’s home and ended at the pilgrimage site. However a few of the routes are considered main ones. During the Middle Ages, the route was highly travelled. However, the Black Death, the Protestant Reformation and political unrest in 16th-century Europe led to its decline. By the 1980s, only a few pilgrims per year arrived in Santiago. Later, the route attracted a growing number of modern-day pilgrims from around the globe. The route was declared the first European Cultural Route by the Council of Europe in October 1987; it was also named one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.
Scallop symbol
The scallop shell, often found on the shores in Galicia, has long been the symbol of the Camino de Santiago. Over the centuries the scallop shell has taken on mythical, metaphorical and practical meanings, even if its relevance may actually derive from the desire of pilgrims to take home a souvenir.
Two versions of the most common myth about the origin of the symbol concern the death of Saint James, who was martyred by beheading in Jerusalem in 44 CE. According to Spanish legends, he had spent time preaching the gospel in Spain, but returned to Judaea upon seeing a vision of the Virgin Mary on the bank of the Ebro river.
Version 1: After James’ death, his disciples shipped his body to the Iberian Peninsula to be buried in what is now Santiago. Off the coast of Spain, a heavy storm hit the ship, and the body was lost to the ocean. After some time, however, it washed ashore undamaged, covered in scallops.
Version 2: After James’ death his body was mysteriously transported by a crewless ship back to the Iberian Peninsula to be buried in what is now Santiago. As the ship approached land, a wedding was taking place on shore. The young groom was on horseback, and on seeing the ship approaching, his horse got spooked, and horse and rider plunged into the sea. Through miraculous intervention, the horse and rider emerged from the water alive, covered in seashells.
The scallop shell also acts as a metaphor. The grooves in the shell, which meet at a single point, represent the various routes pilgrims traveled, eventually arriving at a single destination: the tomb of James in Santiago de Compostela. The shell is also a metaphor for the pilgrim: As the waves of the ocean wash scallop shells up onto the shores of Galicia, God’s hand also guides the pilgrims to Santiago.
The scallop shell also served practical purposes for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago. The shell was the right size for gathering water to drink or for eating out of as a makeshift bowl
All the articles about Andrea Guzzoletti and the Camino de Santiago can be seen here