Landscape and Senses in a Portuguese Municipality on the Way of St. James: Potential Impacts on the Well-Being of Pilgrims

Abstract

The Portuguese Way of St. James is traveled by people seeking well-being, self-therapy, or answers to their personal and religious/spiritual issues. The evaluation of the landscape and its senses and how these may contribute to the well-being of pilgrims are subjects that have been little explored. This research was carried out to understand how the landscape can influence someone's well-being and the senses it awakens. The municipality of Barcelos was the one chosen as representative territory to apply a new method, which includes a participant observation together with the visual documentation of 310 photographs of its main elements and the analysis of a grid of 22 variables. The main result from this method points out the relevance of diversified landscapes with a remarkable variation in colors and sounds. Some gaps in this method were also identified, including the need for improvements by local authorities to contribute to maximized health outcomes.

Keywords: Landscape; Municipality of Barcelos; Portuguese Way of St. James; Sensory dimension; Well-being.

Fig. 1

Typology of Urban Areas in the Parishes of the Municipality of Barcelos. Sources: Authors’ own elaboration supported by the Official Administrative Charter of Portugal (C.A.O.P.), S.N.I.G. (2019) and I.N.E. (2014)

Fig. 2

Slopes in the Municipality of Barcelos along the Way of St. James and its Variants. Sources: Authors’ own elaboration supported by the Official Administrative Charter of Portugal (C.A.O.P.), S.N.I.G. (2019)

Fig. 3

Land Use in the Municipality of Barcelos Along the Way of St. James Way. Source: Authors’ own elaboration based on the Official Administrative Charter of Portugal (C.A.O.P.) and Corine Land Cover Nomenclature of the I.G.P

Fig. 4

Type of Surface and Hazards Found Along the Way of Saint James in Barcelos. Source: Authors’ own elaboration with the help of Sandro Alfaro using Official Administrative Charter of Portugal (C.A.O.P.), S.N.I.G. (2019)

Fig. 5

Main Elements Along the Way of Saint James in the Municipality of Barcelos. Source: Authors’ own elaboration supported by the Official Administrative Charter of Portugal (C.A.O.P.), S.N.I.G. (2019) and Google maps

Fig. 6

Concentration of Services, Suitable Places for the Practice of Meditation and Landscape Dimension. Source: Authors’ own elaboration supported by the Official Administrative Charter of Portugal (C.A.O.P.), S.N.I.G. (2019)