Located 53 kilometres from Compostela, here the Primitive Way joins the French Way, multiplying the Jacobean experiences on offer to the visitor. Melide has always been a town full of tourist attractions of great historical importance, many of them dating back to the Middle Ages.
The first historical mentions date back to the 10th century, after the discovery of the tomb of the Apostle Santiago el Mayor in the first third of the 9th century. This event would produce an unstoppable movement of the whole Christian world towards Compostela. Melide was by then a medieval centre repopulated by order of Alfonso IX. There it would be enclosed, becoming a village of innkeepers who provided a service to pilgrims and other travellers who passed through here.
As a meeting point on the pilgrim routes, Melide received numerous travellers and would welcome groups of traders and craftsmen, attracted by the good business prospects that prevailed. This fact would explain the abundance and quality of its Jacobean hospitals. One of the most outstanding was located next to the old Franciscan convent of Sancti Spiritus, on which it is believed to have depended. It possibly dates from the same year as the monastery, 1375, although there are sources that maintain that it was established in 1502 and that it had 24 double beds, a very common practice in the Middle Ages. The Museo da Terra de Melide has been housed on the remains of this old hospital since 2001.
Another mediaeval care centre was located on the outskirts of the town, associated with the Romanesque church of Santa María. Finally, there is evidence of the existence of a lazaretto run by the monks of the Order of San Lázaro, which was located outside the walls, where this type of institution was usually located.
Along the route of St. James' Way through the town there are certain monuments related to the Way and the Apostle. In short, a place that takes us back to the historical cradle of a crucial enclave on the French Way. If you want to know more about the highlights of Melide, discover the following points of interest.
