A worker placing one of the Camino de Santiago signs at the intersection between Juan Carlos I and Menacho. /
This morning the signs with the shell have begun to be placed from the Cathedral to Caya, a route that pilgrims who choose to combine the Silver Route with the Portuguese Way will take
Badajoz is now officially part of the Camino de Santiago. Since this morning, official signs are being placed with the symbol of the pilgrim’s shell that will mark the route of those who want to cross the city and continue through Portugal on their way to embrace the Saint.
The placement of the signs, with which the city joins the Jacobean itinerary of the Ruta de la Plata, has begun at the Cathedral and has continued through Juan Carlos I towards the Puerta de Palma. But the route that will guide the pilgrims will extend to the border with Portugal, since the purpose of this route is to offer a route to Santiago joining two paths, the Ruta de la Plata and the Portuguese one that starts from Tavira, in the Algarve.
“It is a historic day. We are very proud to take this step, which makes us a link between the Ruta de la Plata path and the Portuguese path. It is a historical and tourist turning point for the city of Badajoz to form Mars of the mark of the Camino de Santiago”, values the Councilor for Tourism, Jaime Mejías.
To celebrate it, an official act is being prepared in May with Spanish and Portuguese authorities and the presence of those responsible for the Camino de Santiago, where in addition to promoting Badajoz as the headquarters of the Jacobean routes, there will be a symbolic tour of a section of the journey urban.
This will be the first phase, so that the complete route that pilgrims must take to link their route with the neighboring country will not be marked. In a second phase, for which there is still no date, it will be completed with the start of the urban route, which is where the walkers will enter, from San Roque to the Cathedral.
Specifically, the itinerary to Santiago that will cross Badajoz arrives from Mérida passing through Puebla de la Calzada and Lobón. Enter through Ricardo Carapeto avenue, cross the San Roque bridge and go up to the cathedral through Trinidad, San Andrés (Cervantes square) and López Prudencio streets.
The central point of the route in Badajoz will be the cathedral. From there the pilgrims will go through Obispo San Juan de Ribera, Juan Carlos I and Prim streets, the Palmas bridge, Adolfo Díaz Ambrona avenue, Elvas avenue and the border. This second section is the one that will be signposted.
“Badajoz, taking advantage of its border position, becomes the link of a Jacobean path that runs through two countries and that will be an incentive for pilgrims,” predicts Mejías.
Jacobean destiny
Together with the signage and the incorporation of Badajoz in the promotion of the routes that the Camino de Santiago itself makes, the city is going to work, explains the person in charge of Tourism, to position itself as a Jacobean destination, taking advantage of the tourism fairs and forums in which participant.
In addition, it is planned to develop guides and a website with useful information for pilgrims and, once the Ukrainian refugee crisis is overcome, prepare the El Revellín hostel to serve future pilgrims who choose Badajoz on their way to Santiago. of Compostela.
This initiative is part of the European cross-border project of the Interreg Red de los Caminos Jacobeos del Oeste Peninsular program, led by the Diputación de Badajoz. With this, the aim is to promote the routes to Santiago de Compostela that run through eight Spanish provinces and three Portuguese regions.
www.hoy.es
Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.