Camino Portugués de la Costa
El Camino Portugués de la Costa (Caminho Português da Costa en portugués) es la alternativa costera al Camino Portugués del interior. Desde Oporto, llega al Atlántico y continúa hacia el norte por localidades costeras, comunidades pesqueras, playas y estuarios, aunque algunos tramos largos discurren por el interior en lugar de junto al mar.
En Caminha, los peregrinos cruzan el Miño en barco para entrar en Galicia y continúan por A Guarda, Baiona y Vigo. El Camino de la Costa se une a la ruta Central en Redondela, y desde allí ambos siguen el mismo Camino hasta Santiago.
Lugares de interés del Camino Portugués de la Costa
Porto
Porto developed around the hill above the Douro where the medieval city and its cathedral took shape. The name Portucale, used for Porto and the surrounding territory in the early Middle Ages, eventually gave its name to Portugal.
Its position at the lowest practical crossing of the Douro made Porto a gateway between northern and southern Portugal. For pilgrims arriving from the south, the route climbed from the river through the medieval city before continuing north towards Santiago de Compostela.
Today Porto is one of the main starting points for both the Caminho Português Central and the Caminho Português da Costa.
Viana do Castelo
Afonso III granted Viana da Foz do Lima a foral (charter) in 1258, establishing the town at the mouth of the Rio Lima. Maritime trade flourished during the 15th and 16th centuries, and wealthy merchants and shipowners left the Manueline and Renaissance buildings that still characterise the historic centre.
Viana later became an important port for Portugal's cod-fishing fleet and developed a major shipbuilding industry. In 1848, Maria II elevated it to a city and gave it its present name, Viana do Castelo.
Vigo
Vigo remained a relatively small walled fishing town until the 19th century. From the late 18th century, Catalan entrepreneurs developed sardine-salting and later canning businesses, helping drive the growth of the fishing port, shipyards and modern industrial city.
During the Peninsular War, a local uprising expelled the French garrison occupying Vigo on 28 March 1809. The event, known as the Reconquista, is re-enacted each March in the Casco Vello and helped earn Vigo city status the following year.
Pontevedra
Pontevedra is the capital of Pontevedra province, although Vigo is larger. Its name comes from Ponte Veteri ("old bridge"), the Roman crossing of the Rio Lérez that preceded today's Ponte do Burgo.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, Pontevedra was the leading port of the Rías Baixas, supported by fishing, fish-salting and maritime trade. Much of this wealth was concentrated in A Moureira, the seafaring quarter whose Gremio de Mareantes (Seafarers' Guild) helped finance the Basílica de Santa María a Maior.
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela developed around a tomb identified in the early 9th century by Bishop Teodomiro as that of the Apostle James, although the attribution rests on religious tradition rather than historical proof. King Alfonso II of Asturias travelled to the site and ordered a church to be built over the tomb, helping establish the pilgrimage that would shape the city for centuries. Construction of the present Romanesque cathedral began in 1075. A medieval city grew around it to serve pilgrims arriving from across Europe.