This route follows part of the old Roman Road XXXIV Ab Asturica Burdigalam, which linked Astorga with Bordeaux. With this new declaration, the Community has recognised 16 Routes to Santiago: ten Historic Routes, five Traditional Routes and The French Way of Saint James.
The Commission for the Routes to Santiago through Castilla y León, in its recent meeting held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sport, has approved, by majority, the inclusion of the Via Aquitania as a new Historic Route to Santiago, bringing the number of routes that have this distinction to ten.
The Via Aquitania Route is 90 kilometres long, starting in Burgos and following the line designed by the Roman road Ab Asturica Burdigalam , number 34 on the Antonine Itinerary, also known as De Hispannia in Aequitania.
Some historians consider it to be the original route before it was planned, between the mid-11th century and the beginning of the 12th century, by King Sancho III of Navarre and his descendants Alfonso VI of Leon and Sancho Ramírez of Aragón and Pamplona, the route known since then as the French Way.
It runs through historic towns such as Sasamón (the ancient Roman Segisamone ), Tardajos ( Teobrigula or Deobrigula ), Osorno and Melgar de Fernamental (in the area around Dessobriga ), joining the French Way at Villalcázar de Sirga. From there, it continues as the French Way to Astorga ( Asturica Augusta ), passing along the old road of Carrión de los Condes ( Lacobricam ), one of whose sections can still be travelled in the vicinity of Benevívere. On the Via de Aquitania, and more specifically in Arconada, some historians have located what is considered one of the oldest hospitals on the peninsula (c.1040) intended to welcome pilgrims and other needy people.
As a guide, the promoters of the initiative that has resulted in the recognition, the Association of Friends of the Camino a Santiago Via Aquitania, propose the following stages with their corresponding mileage:
- Burgos – Villanueva de Argaño 21.52 km.
- Villanueva de Argaño – Sasamón 12.56 km.
- Sasamón – Melgar de Fernamental 18.39 km.
- Melgar de Fernamental – Osorno 12.30 km.
- Osorno – Villalcázar de Sirga 24.5 km.
More information: https://viaaquitania.com/index
