Place-Making and Meaning-Making on the Camino de Santiago

Pilgrimage and place are well-established areas of scholarly inquiry. This book is an investigation of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela that is framed by place studies. The book proposes that pilgrims en route to Santiago encounter and cultivate meaning-making that is socially and materially constructed and influenced by pilgrimage traditions, landscapes, pilgrimage-support communities, and artistic and religious material cultures. The consequence is the formation of a unique pilgrimage identity. The concept of a Camino identity draws on self-categorization theory and is of major significance for place-making and meaning-making during the pilgrimage to Santiago. The book employs three strategies of investigation: historical and contemporary accounts of the pilgrimage and insights from place studies, participating in the Camino pilgrimage twice, and creating sculptures that mediate an understanding of the Camino experience. In 2010, pilgrims to Santiago numbered more than 270,000. This book will be of interest to scholars of place, as well as the many pilgrims--foot, bicycle or armchair pilgrims--that participate in this historical pilgrimage.