The Camino and the Via Francigena 'slow tourism'
He Camino de Santiago and the Via Francigena They will travel together along the route of the so-called slow tourism. Galicia and the Lazio region – which covers the center of the western coast of Italy, with its capital in Rome – will carry out a twinning that translates into tourism promotion programs, especially focused on Xacobeo of 2027, as well as in research projects and exchanges of good practices around two pilgrimage itineraries characterized by their spiritual background and their connection with history, nature, traditions and the territories through which they pass.
The president of the Xunta, Alfonso Rueda, and his counterpart from Lazio, Francesco Rocca, signed this Thursday in the Borromeo Palace from Rome a memorandum of understanding to pair two routes that he described as "a religious and cultural manifestation, a first-rate economic resource and an example of humanism and unity, also being a fundamental piece in the construction of European identity."
He also highlighted the importance that this initiative will have in facing "a moment of special interest" for both, in reference to the celebration of the 2025 roman jubilee year and the proximity of the next Xacobeo.
But also due to the huge presence of Italian pilgrims on the Jacobean route, given that they are the second most important foreign nationality. According to the data of the Pilgrim's OfficeIn 2024, 23,462 transalpine pilgrims collected their compostela, around 6% of the almost half a million registered in a record year, only surpassed, within the foreign contingent, by the 38,052 Americans.
Learn good practices
"What we intend is to claim the full validity, relevance and, above all, the enormous future" of two routes that, through this common work, will seek to "continue to be a symbol of unity, hospitality and peace," said Rueda about an agreement that involves "promoting ourselves together throughout the world" through the main international tourism fairs, promote studies of both paths or promote educational exchanges around them.
FOUNTAIN: GALICIAE
