Spain Guide
Galicia
Museo das Peregrinaciónes
Address: Just east of San Martiño Pinario monastery
Opening time: Tues– Fri 10am–8pm, Sat 10.30am–1.30pm & 5–8pm, Sun 10.30am–1.30pm
Price: Free
Santiago's most interesting museum relates the story of pilgrimage not only here but also to religious shrines the world over. The Museo das Peregrinaciónes is housed in a sixteenth-century mansion, the Pazo de Don Pedro. Excellent models and displays cover the camino, the city and cathedral. Look out for the room that explores how depictions of St James himself have changed over the centuries, to reflect his changing image.
The museum's real jewel, however, is an original copy of the twelfth-century Codex Calixtinus, a travel guide for pilgrims, which recommended routes and lodgings and pointed out the various dangers of the camino, such as the "malicious, swarthy, ugly, depraved, perverse, despicable, disloyal and corrupt" Navarrese. There's also a fascinating modern equivalent, drawn by Japanese artist Munehiro Ikeda in the 1980s.