The Story of the Scallop Shell

During the 12th and 13th centuries pilgrims traveled to Santiago de Campestela, a town in the farthest northwestern reach of Spain where in the cathedral, tradition says, the relics of Saint James the Apostle rest. Compestela became, after Jeruselem and Rome, the most famous place of pilgrimage in Christendom. Pilgrims were guided along the route by the scallop shell painted on signs and carved into buildings. Along the Camino de Santiago in the city of Leon the scallop shell continued to mark the route. Here they are made of brass and embedded in the city's sidewalks and squares. The scallop shell became the symbol of this pilgrimage.