Human intervention and social practices have been pivotal for the creation of sacred spaces; indeed, the mobility of human beings has endowed spaces with meaning through religious cultural products. Progressive human intervention in holy places has turned them into monumental spaces, where cultural heritage has become a symbol of identity and the space has assumed the values of the culture that produced it. In this paper, we investigate the value of heritage along pilgrimage routes, as in the case of the Way of St. James. The sacred-monumental space works according to the system of artistic and cultural elements that define it as an integrated system. We will focus on the twentieth-century rediscovery of the Way in Spain, on the processes of monumental reinterpretation that culminated in its declaration, in 1987, as ‘First European Cultural Route’ by the Council of Europe, and as ‘UNESCO World Heritage Site’, in 1993.

The Way of St. James in Spain is the main European pilgrimage route. Currently, it is a cultural, tourist, monumental, spiritual, and sports route. For this reason, the paper aims to discuss the concept of the “Polysemy of The Way”, by analysing how the new pilgrims’ motivations are creating an inclusive and complex space, which is making a shift from religious space to a multifaceted tourism reality. We study the characterisation and interaction of the new actors involved in its development, maintenance and promotion. As a result, its original “space of faith” is now a “live heritage space”, thanks to the rehabilitation of routes, monuments, and landscapes. The combination of these motivational and spatial transformations enhances the factors of post-secular pilgrimage, such as slow mobility, the liminality and the sense of community, which the same actors assume as priorities for territorial management.

Santiago de Compostela is an iconic place. From the 9th century through to the present day the city has acted as the final destination of a major pilgrimage route named after it. In the article we ask ourselves how the contemporary reinvention of the pilgrimage and pilgrimages on the Way of St. James has boosted tourism development in the city. Development has been concentrated in the historic city centre and in the area around the cathedral. The importance of tourism has transformed the significance of the city itself, which acquires a magical component as a place of arrival and encounter for all kinds of visitors. The historic city has been set up in the 20th century as a destination for the Way and for cultural tourism. The buildings, particularly those connected with the pilgrimage route, become highly attractive and symbolic places and tourists carry out a number of rituals in them. They travel and enjoy Santiago as a unique experience. The study of tourism and of the tourist transformation of Santiago de Compostela is undertaken using a qualitative and quantitative method. The article analyses the heritage and symbolic value of the historic centre, together with the growth of its tourism activities. Numerical data are also provided on the perceptions and behaviour of visitors using surveys carried out by the city's Tourism Observatory.

Durante la edad media, el Camino de Santiago se consolidó como una de las tres peregrinaciones mayores, junto a Roma y a Jerusalén, y en la actualidad es sin duda la más viva. Aunque ha sufrido períodos de crisis y de abandono, desde los decenios finales del siglo xx conoce un intenso proceso de renacimiento, que se acompaña de la recuperación y actualización de la figura del peregrino. Considerando que cada período ha definido sus propios tipos de peregrinación y ha dotado al espacio sagrado de unos contenidos singulares, recorreremos brevemente los orígenes de la peregrinación jacobea, para luego detenernos en su proceso de renacimiento contemporáneo y en el peregrino turista del presente. Ponemos de manifiesto el carácter polisémico del Camino, destacando cinco factores clave que han promovido dicha renovación a lo largo del tiempo y que han contribuido a forjar la situación actual

A lo largo de la última década, el concepto de overtourism ha sido abordado tanto a nivel teórico, como a nivel empírico. La presente investigación analiza esta tendencia en Santiago de Compostela. Este destino de turismo urbano internacional es también la meta del Camino de Santiago, primer Itinerario Cultural Europeo, y una de las rutas de peregrinación más importantes del mundo. Su promoción desde el Año Santo 1993 ha consolidado un crecimiento continuo que se traduce en un aumento del número de llegadas de peregrinos. Los datos de los últimos años plantean debates acerca de la capacidad de carga y el overtourism en un centro histórico de 169,9 hectáreas. Por ello, el objetivo principal de este trabajo es analizar la evolución contemporánea marcada por estas tendencias turísticas y, sobre todo, introducir reflexiones y opiniones que parten de diversos actores locales para un desarrollo turístico sostenible. Desde el punto de vista metodológico, se adoptan los enfoques múltiples de la investigación turística contemporánea y se combinan metodología cuantitativa y cualitativa. Los resultados introducen una nueva propuesta basada en la combinación de variables (espacio, tiempo y sociedad) a la hora de abordar el proceso de overtourism en Santiago de Compostela.