page_title: Camino de Santiago (route descriptions)
section_title: Coastal Way
hierarchical_section_title: Camino de Santiago (route descriptions) / UNESCO World Heritage Listings / Routes of Northern Spain / Coastal Way
caption_attribution_description: This file was uploaded for Wiki Loves Monuments in Portugal with the unique identifier 71207. English&#160;| español&#160;| português&#160;| português do Brasil&#160;| +/−
context_page_description: The Camino de Santiago, also known as the Way of St. James, extends from different countries of Europe, and even North Africa, on its way to Santiago de Compostela and Finisterre. The local authorities try to restore many of the ancient routes, even those used in a limited period, in the interest of tourism.
  Here follows an overview of the main routes of the modern-day pilgrimage.
context_section_description: The Portuguese Way (Spanish: Camino Portugués, Portuguese: Caminho Português) begins at Lisbon or Porto in Portugal. From Porto, along the Douro River, pilgrims travel north crossing the Ave, Cávado, Lima and Minho rivers before entering Spain and then passing through Padron before arriving at Santiago. It is the second most popular way, after the French one. The route is 610 km long starting in Lisbon or 227 km long starting in Porto. From Lisbon, the starting point is Lisbon Cathedral, crossing the Thermal Hospital of Caldas da Rainha (1485) and heading to the Alcobaça Monastery (1252), which was an albergue (hostel) for medieval pilgrims who could only stay there for a single night. Using Roman roads, pilgrims headed to Coimbra and had to reach Porto before night falls, as the gates of the city closed, once in the pilgrims headed to Church of São Martinho de Cedofeita (c. 1087). 
  
  There are two traditional routes from Porto, one inland (the Central Way) and the Coastal Way (Caminho da Costa). Rates is considered a central site of the Portuguese Way. The way has been used since the Middle Ages and the ancient monastery of Rates (rebuilt in 1100) gained importance due to the legend of Saint Peter of Rates. The legend holds that Saint James ordained Peter as the first bishop of Braga in the year AD 44. Peter died as a martyr while attempting to convert local pagans. 
  Rates is also the location of the first modern pilgrim hostel (Albergue) in the Portuguese way. On the way to the Rates Monastery there is the medieval Dom Zameiro Bridge. It was (re)built in 1185 for an easy cross of the Ave river by medieval pilgrims. It is part of Roman Via Veteris and known in the Middle Ages as Karraria Antiqua (the old way), as such the bridge has Roman origin. After leaving the monastery, the crossing of Cávado River was made using barges landing in Barca do Lago, which literally means "Lake's barge". The Brotherhood of Barca do Lago stated in 1635: "this passage is very popular and it is for more than 400 years in our peaceful possession". The Portuguese King Sancho II made the crossing there during a pilgrimage in 1244 and centuries later King Manuel I did the same in 1502. Currently, the crossing which replaces the barges in both the Coastal and the Coastal derivation of the central way is made through Ponte de Fão, built in 1892, heading to the Neiva Castle, currently lost, the Neiva was a Castro culture hillfort and early medieval castle. For pilgrims preferring the inland route, the crossing is made through the Medieval Bridge of Barcelos, constructed between 1325 and 1328.
   
  The crossing of the Lima River is made through the Eiffel bridge (1878) in the Coastal way, originally via barges. The bridge and the town of Viana do Castelo are signed by the sighting of the Monument-Temple of Santa Luzia (1904) over a hilltop. The Lantern tower of the sanctuary is where the pilgrim can see most of one's route in one of the most iconic views of Northern Portugal. Pilgrims were treated in the Old Hospital of Viana do Castelo, an hostel for pilgrims from early 15th century. For the inland route, Ponte de Lima's bridge is used. The later bridge possibly dates to the 1st century and was rebuilt in 1125. One of the most tiring parts of the Portuguese inland Way is in the Labruja hills in Ponte de Lima, which are hard to cross. In Classical antiquity, the Lima was said to have properties of memory loss due to events in an ancient battle there between the Turduli and the Celts. Strabo compared it to the mythological Lethe, the river of unmindfulness. Two ancient canoes found in Lanheses (Viana do Castelo) and the itinerary of the Loca Maritima Roman way suggest that to be the site where the Roman soldiers were fearful of the crossing during the conquest of the region in 136 BC.
  The Coastal Way gained prominence in the 15th century due to the growing importance of the coastal towns in the advent of the Age of Discovery. After leaving Porto, the route splits from the central way in the countryside of Vila do Conde. The town is still today crowned 
caption: The Portuguese late Gothic Matriz Church of Vila do Conde built during the pilgrimage of Manuel I of Portugal in 1502.
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