Illumination effects at the cathedral of Saint james (Galicia): First results

The Cathedral of Santiago (Spain) is one of the three most sacred sites in Christendom together with Saint

Peter in Vatican and Jerusalem, and it is the focal point of a pilgrimage route since the Middle Ages. The

present Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is the result of a long-lasting effort of building and

reconstruction with two main break-points, the erection of the Romanesque building in the 12th and 13th

centuries and its reform during Baroque times (s. XVII). Built at the site of a previous Roman and later

Germanic cemetery, its orientation is fully compatible with the canonical rule for the Middle Ages in Spain

and indicates an attempt to follow a given date in the Julian calendar, March 25th. This is one of the three

calendar dates that are related to the Apostle according to the Codex Callistinus, a writing describing the

pilgrimage to Santiago from the XIIth century, the other two being July 25th and December 30th. In the

present essay we investigate how the different dates related to this Saint have been incorporated in the

original design of the Cathedral and its transformation through time, either through the orientation or by

illumination effects, particularly in the Romanesque and the later Baroque reform.

Christian churches. Santiago de Compostela. Orientation of churches. Illumination effects.