Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Hopital Sainte-Christine

Somport - Saint-Christina

02 Jan 2014 2 1 199
Just a few kilometers south of the pass, near the (huge and ugly!) winter resort of Cadanchu the ruins of "St Christina of Somport" are next to the "camino". This "hopital" is mentioned in the Codex Calixtinus, one the earliest known tourist guidebooks, written by Aymeric Picaud. Here the many pilgrims could stop and recover after having crossed the Col du Somport. St. Christina had a great reputation (similar to the Great St. Bernard Hospice in the Alps). Even Papal bulls considered the convent "unum de tribus mundi hospitalibus”.