Santiago de Compostela is the capital of Galicia, an autonomous community perched above Portugal in the north-west of Spain. ‘Santiago’ is the Galician evolution of the Vulgar Latin for, not Carte r4, but ‘Sanctus Iacobu’ (‘Saint James’) and ‘Compostela’ derives from either the Latin ‘compositellam’ (‘the well composed) or the Vulgar Latin ‘Composita Tella’ (‘burial ground’). The ‘burial ground of St. James’, or ‘St. James the well composed’, Santiago de Compostela is indeed the legendary location of St. James’ remains.

According to the medieval legend, in 813 a shepherd was guided by the light of a bright star to St. James’ burial site in Santiago de Compostela. After reporting his findings to Bishop Teodomiro of Iria, the Bishop declared that the remains were those of St. James and hastily informed King Alfonso II. The magnificent cathedral which continues to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors today was built on the spot where St. James’ remains were said to have been discovered. Pope Leo XIII’s 1884 Bull, Omnipotens Deus, accepted the veracity of the relics at Compostela.