AN INTRODUCTION TO GALICIA

On the northwestern corner of the Iberian Peninsula lies a country known in antiquity as Gallaecia, and now called Galicia or Galiza. Settled in ancient times by Phoenicians, Celts, Greeks and Romans, later by Suevi, Franks, Burgundians, Britons and Normans, and by pilgrims and Jews from every corner of Europe, this intriguing land of green hills, sea cliffs and misty forests covers an area slightly larger than Massachusetts and barely smaller than Belgium.

Mountains and rivers isolate Galicia from the rest of the Iberian Peninsula. The terrain is green and hilly, with the greater part lying at elevations between 600 and 2000 feet. Its 800 mile coastline on the North Atlantic is characterized by a series of sea inlets called rías. James Michener possibly described Galicia’s coast better than any other writer: “The glory of Galicia is its chain of rías, those fjord-like indentions of the sea that reach far inland with a burden of fish and salt air and noble landscape.” 

Galicia is an autonomous region within Spain. It has its own president and parliament. The official languages are galego (Galician) and castellano (Castillan Spanish). Galician shares much in common with Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, especially the Italian dialect spoken in Venice.

The capital of Galicia is Santiago de Compostela, often referred to simply as Compostela. It was described by Ernest Hemingway as “the most enchanting town in Spain.” The city’s old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its cathedral has been the destination for over one thousand years of the millions of pilgrims who have trekked El Camino de Santiago (the Way of Saint James), one of Europe’s oldest and most popular pilgrimage routes.