An international pilgrim route

In Spain, most of the peregrination tracks have as destinies Santiago de Compostela, that with it’s different routes, it has become in the course of the time the most known peregrination track of the world, making around it great structures and important tourist expectatives, that sometimes, seems to be in the margin of the own peregrination spirit.

In Catalunya it was created at 2001 a track that wanted to retake the peregrination feeling although it doesn’t come from the middle age but that it comes from a much modern time, mixing the three most fundamental factors of the moment: the social aspect, the cultural and human values.

This is how “Nuria’s friend’s track”was born, route that joins Mountain of Montserrat with Nuria’s Sanctuary and that has been promoted and developed by the association of “Friends of Vall de Núria” cultural Catalan entity.

If we talk about peregrins tracks of Spain and Catalunya, we have to talk also of European paths, overall about Occidental Europe where there were grand routes to Rome, from where it used to ship to Jerusalem. That’s why we find so many tracks that cross France, Sweden and Italy and that come from the north and western part of Europe.

One of this route, that goes over most part of Europe is the one that the arquebisbe of Canterbury done at 990 and that he left written when he came back from Rome where he went to get the document of his investment.

At 1995, M. Adelaide Trezzini started to investigate about this track to create a medieval route based on this use. At 1997 it was created AVF (Association of Via Francígena) that has as objective promote, diffuse and publish the Sigerico Rute, which passes to be call Via Francígena and that now joins Canterbury (England) with Rome (Italy).

Another very important route of Central Europe was the one the middle-age peregrines walked, from Saint Gilles du Gard where they shipped to Rome and Jerusalem. The “Amics des chemins de Saint Giles” association takes charge of organize different routes every year having as main destiny this population that venerates the remains of Saint Gil that as we know it’s vinculated with the Vall de Nuria and it’s the route of “Ruta Nimes-Saint Giles du Gard” that congregates the most number of participants.

Making use of these paths already done and the existence of these associations, we think it’s feasible to realize a peregrine track that joins Montserrat, an spiritual centre and Catalunya’s peregrination with Rome.