English translation from my article written in 2008
«If you don't see Santiago under the rain, you can't say to have really visited it». Sergio and Paola explain me what maybe is the true characteristic of the city, while it shines in the sunlight with all its magnificence. «In the morning there is usually a thin layer of mist that envelopes the city together with a very fine drizzle falling silently, that kind of rain which makes you totally wet without you even realise». The extraordinary splendid day deprives me of this peculiar feature of the city, known for being one of the most important pilgrimage site for Christendom. Santiago de Compostela is a meeting point: history, culture, traditions, people and peoples have been converging here since centuries and centuries ago. For everybody Santiago is a Christianity sight-symbol, whose roots sink strong and vigorous. However Santiago de Compostela, commonly known as Santiago, is also one of the main places where it is possible discover the many faces of Spain and those of Santiago region, the region of Galicia. «Galicia is primarily a land of Celtic origins», says proudly Sergio in a very brief historical summary where is possible to search out part of the independentist spirit of this region. Of course, behind this Galician push for independence lie economic reasons. «Here we produce electricity through wind turbines, and the central government of Madrid has the right to decide how to use our electricity», complains Sergio. «Madrid forces us to pay taxes for our domestic use of the electricity produced by us». In short, here people feel different and robbed, too. «Anyway, we are not for violence, we are not like ETA», is keen to stress Sergio. «We are for dialogue and peaceful resolution of issues».
Santiago has an own unique charm, even without the rain that makes it so special. The Obradoiro square (Plaza do Obradoiro), with the St. James cathedral and the Rajoy palace (Palacio de Rajoy or Pazo de Raxoi, the seat of the council of the autonomous community of Galicia), is breathtaking. The square is a space enclosed by imposing structures of different styles: Gothic, Baroque and Neoclassical. The name of the square comes from the old worker who used to work there for building the St. James cathedral up (Obradoiro means worker), thus finally Plaza do Obradoiro become a point of extreme synthesis between architecture and urbanism, between authority and social stratification: still today the temporal power is in front of the spiritual power. The two authorities are still facing each other, with people in the middle. About people, Santiago appears above all for those who live the city. During the day this is a destination for believers and tourists, during the night is for Spanish and students. Santiago is not only a Christian city, is also an important and popular university sight, attracting students from all over Spain and Europe. Moonlight shows the other side of Santiago, the one of tapas (food variety served during the happy hour) and bottellon (the activity of having alcoholic drinks along the streets and sit in squares), the one of crowds of people meeting at park of Alameda creating a sort of a rumble in sea style. That side of life which twists and turns through the alleys of the city centre, so narrow but always able to emerge into hidden little square or colonnades. This is the other side of Santiago, the capital city of Galicia, the city of pilgrims and students, the city where people meet people, just like us. «If you did not see Santiago with the rain, you can't say to have really visited it», they say here. No, I cannot say I saw the true Santiago. However I can say to have experienced some of its many fascinating sides.
Original article for PeaceReporter
Other cities visited:
Amsterdam / Antwerpen / Berlino / Binche / Braine l'Alleud / Brugge / Budapest / De Haan / Den Haag / Durbuy / Gent / Halle / Knokke / Leuven / Liège / Mechelen / Mons / Namur / New York city / Oostende / Strasbourg / Tournai / Vilvoorde / Waterloo
No comments:
Post a Comment