The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handbook [Paperback]

David M. Gitlitz (Author), Dr. Linda Kay Davidson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2000

The road across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela in the northwest was one of the three major Christian pilgrimage routes during the Middle Ages, leading pilgrims to the resting place of the Apostle St. James. Today, the system of trails and roads that made up the old pilgrimage route is the most popular long-distance trail in Europe, winding from the heights of the Pyrenees to the gently rolling fields and woods of Galicia. Hundreds of thousands of modern-day pilgrims, art lovers, historians, and adventurers retrace the road today, traveling through a stunningly varied landscape which contains some of the most extraordinary art and architecture in the western world. For any visitor, the Road to Santiago is a treasure trove of historical sites, rustic Spanish villages, churches and cathedrals, and religious art.

To fully appreciate the riches of this unique route, look no further than The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago, a fascinating step-by-step guide to the cultural history of the Road for pilgrims, hikers, and armchair travelers alike. Organized geographically, the book covers aspects of the terrain, places of interest, history, artistic monuments, and each town and village's historical relationship to the pilgrimage.

The authors have led five student treks along the Road, studying the art, architecture, and cultural sites of the pilgrimage road from southern France to Compostela. Their lectures, based on twenty-five years of pilgrimage scholarship and fieldwork, were the starting point for this handbook.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David M. Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson, specialists in Hispanic studies at the University of Rhode Island, met on the Road on their first pilgrimage to Santiago in 1974. Davidson has written several scholarly works on the pilgrimage to Compostela with co-author Maryjane Dunn. Gitlitz is the author of various books on Hispanic and Sephardic culture, including the prize-winning Secrecy and Deceit: The Religion of the Crypto-Jews. Their first book written together, also from St. Martin's Press, was A Drizzle of Honey: The Lives and Recipes of Spain's Secret Jews, for which they won the National Jewish Book Award and the award for Distinguished Scholarship form the International Association of Culinary Professionals.

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (July 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312254164
• ISBN-13: 978-0312254162
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,768 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #12 in Books > Travel > Reference & Tips > Guidebooks
  • #24 in Books > Travel > Europe > Spain
  • #41 in Books > Travel > Reference & Tips > Tourist Destinations & Museums

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

93 of 94 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I liked it, I liked it ..., July 24, 2002

By 

Richard Willey (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handbook (Paperback)

As is apparent from other reviews in this thread, "The Pilgrim's Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handbook" by Gitlitz and Davidson elicits strong feelings, both pro and con. I personally found this book to be an invaluable reference while walking the pilgrimage route. However, I recognize how other individuals might differ in their assessment.

First and foremost, it is essential to recognize what this book is NOT designed to do.

The handbook is not a trail guide.
It does not list refuges or explain where to camp.
It does not tell you where to eat or what to pack.
If this is what you are looking for, find another book.

With that said and done, the handbook did provide me with an extremely valuable reference in establishing a cultural context for the sites that I was visiting. I am not an expert in Romanesque architecture, nor do I know the lives of Roman Catholic saints well enough to recognize the major figures in a Retablo. I never had the opportunity to extensively study the history of the pilgrimage. Left to my own devices, I would most certainly never have read much in the way of medieval Spanish poetry. In all honesty, even after walking the pilgrimage route, I am still far from expert in all of these areas. However, the handbook did provide me with enough information that I was able to appreciate much more of the sites that I was visiting.

As other individuals have noted, time for sightseeing is often short. I found the handbook to be extremely useful in prioritizing my time and determining which sites would be most interesting to visit. As an example, none of the other sources that I consulted noted the existence of the Blacksmith forge at Compludo which may very well have been my favorite part of the trip. Without the handbook, I would have never have visted half the church nor understood a quarter of what I was seeing.

As I noted at the start of this posting, when it comes to the handbook, your mileage may vary. Each person has their own reason for traveling the Camino. If you aren't interested in cultural history or architectural reference, you might find it more useful to bring another reference. However, if you are interested in understanding the "why" behind what you're seeing, I think that you will find this reference as valuable as I did.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago, August 8, 2000

By 

Conrad Kent (Delaware, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handbook (Paperback)

David Gitlitz and Linda Davidson have written a remarkable cultural handbook on the Road to Santiago. Basing the book on their own information gained from over a quarter of century of walks to Santiago, they have composed a text that is a must read for all manner of pilgrims to Santiago as well as any student of Spanish cultural history. It is also the one book written over the past 500 years that would have been both credible and interesting to pilgrims from the Renaissance. Examining layer after layer of medieval, Renaissance and modern culture from even the most obscure sites along the road, Gitlitz and Davidson make it possible to finally see the Road to Santiago for the rich cultural, social and religious experience that it is.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have, April 25, 2001

By 

Craig (Chino Hills, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handbook (Paperback)

In preparation for my first official pilgrimage to Compostela, I've sought out references from every possible fountain. Davidson and Gitlitz offer the consumate guide to the novice pilgrim, with plenty for the seasoned shell-bearer. This book is thorough in its detail, appealing in its prose and appetizing in its descriptions. Having lived in many of the places along the road, I've been critical of many of the books I've read as too heavy on the "Big C" culture: That which isn't really culture at all...just the obvious stereotype. This book is heavy on the "Little C" culture, as a book which delves into little-known asides which inspire the traveler to seek and find, and create a unique memory for themselves.

It offers a variety of insights on history, lore, architecture, terrain, and other "bonuses". It's a quick read, but allows you enough of the whole to enitce you to explore and gain the rest on your own industry.

Of all the guidebooks I've purchased, this is the ONLY one that will be travelling in my pack on the Road to Santiago.