Saint James the Greater and Saint Michael Archangel: Historical, Anthropologycal and Artistic Features in their Routes

• Main Author: Antonella Palumbo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Bologna 2017-01-01
• Series: Almatourism
• Subjects: Routes; Sheep Tracks; Saint James; Saint Michael
• Online Access: https://almatourism.unibo.it/article/view/6358

The project wants to explicate in a generic way the importance of the two sacred and charismatic medieval characters such as the figure of Saint James of the Greater from Santiago de Compostela from Spain and Saint Michael Archangel from Monte Sant'Angelo in South of Italy, through their main icons, their devotions, their anthropological approaches and their pilgrimages that have called so much people in their own cities. Santiago de Compostela and Monte Sant'Angelo were two of the most important places in the Middle Age. The representation of the saints and their actions are described in ancient literary texts and it explains not only the origin of their cults, but also the following development of the pilgrimages both through the main routes and through the alternative routes known as “tratturi” or sheep tracks. There are some aspects that are expressed better than others and icons can be defined as a functional artistic way to communicate to the entire people in the past. So, what are the main icons of Saint James and Saint Michael? And what are their routes? These are some common questions that can be answered by historical and artistic studies, but also anthropological and literature fields can be considered relevant at the same.This project is currently a work in progress for the PhD thesis.