{"id":918,"date":"2026-05-04T05:26:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T09:26:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oldgriffy.com\/?p=918"},"modified":"2026-05-04T07:26:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T11:26:07","slug":"may-2-villafranca-del-bierzo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oldgriffy.com\/?p=918","title":{"rendered":"May 2, Villafranca del Bierzo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Villafranca del Bierzo<\/strong>, a key stop on the Camino de Santiago.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Calle del Agua (Water Street)<\/b>: A historically important, narrow medieval street lined with palaces and noble houses.<\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a> Convent of the Annunciation (16th Century): Located on the Calle del Agua.<\/figure>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The <\/span>Colegiata de Santa Mar\u00eda de Cluniaco<\/span> (or Santa Mar\u00eda de Cru\u00f1ego) in Villafranca del Bierzo is a 12th-century church founded by Cluniac monks to serve pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago. Rebuilt between the 16th and 18th centuries, it features late Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque styles, making it a key historical site in the town.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Church of Santiago (12th Century)<\/strong>: Famous for its “Door of Forgiveness” (Puerta del Perd\u00f3n), which allowed pilgrims unable to complete their journey due to illness to receive the same indulgences as in Santiago de Compostela.<\/figure>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

My next post will be from O Cebreiro, a mountain village, difficult to get to, and one that many pilgrims over the years found impossible to pass. But more on that later.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Villafranca del Bierzo, a key stop on the Camino de Santiago. Calle del Agua (Water Street): A historically important, narrow medieval street lined with palaces and noble houses. Convent of the Annunciation (16th Century): Located on the Calle del Agua. The Colegiata de Santa Mar\u00eda de Cluniaco (or Santa Mar\u00eda de Cru\u00f1ego) in Villafranca del […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":193664754,"featured_media":967,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1379,1380],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personal","category-writing"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oldgriffy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_2228-1-rotated.jpeg?fit=3024%2C4032&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgfYCB-eO","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":880,"url":"https:\/\/oldgriffy.com\/?p=880","url_meta":{"origin":918,"position":0},"title":"May 3, O Cebreiro, Crash & Burn","author":"Old Griffy","date":"May 4, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019d been anticipating the walk to O Cebreiro for months. It is an amazing, gorgeous city. The distance from Villafranca del Bierzo to O Cebreiro is 18.6 miles and I was ready. I only got 3 km and my body quit working. I started using my trekking poles just to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Personal"","block_context":{"text":"Personal","link":"https:\/\/oldgriffy.com\/?cat=1379"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oldgriffy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/90adf189-1dbc-4719-9230-474f6dfaa4c0-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1018&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oldgriffy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/90adf189-1dbc-4719-9230-474f6dfaa4c0-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1018&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oldgriffy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/90adf189-1dbc-4719-9230-474f6dfaa4c0-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1018&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oldgriffy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/90adf189-1dbc-4719-9230-474f6dfaa4c0-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1018&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oldgriffy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/90adf189-1dbc-4719-9230-474f6dfaa4c0-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1018&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":916,"url":"https:\/\/oldgriffy.com\/?p=916","url_meta":{"origin":918,"position":1},"title":"May 1, Ponferrada","author":"Old Griffy","date":"May 4, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The primary medieval structure in Ponferrada, Spain, is the Castillo de los Templarios (Templar Castle), a MASSIVE 12th-century fortress covering approximately 16,000 square meters. 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My prior Camino was mainly about getting from place to place, but my intent this time is to seek out the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oldgriffy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_2190-rotated.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oldgriffy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_2190-rotated.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oldgriffy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_2190-rotated.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oldgriffy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_2190-rotated.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":921,"url":"https:\/\/oldgriffy.com\/?p=921","url_meta":{"origin":918,"position":3},"title":"May 5, Sarria","author":"Old Griffy","date":"May 6, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Sarria is about 100 kilometers from the end of the line, Santiago de Compostela. 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Sarria is also the first\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Personal"","block_context":{"text":"Personal","link":"https:\/\/oldgriffy.com\/?cat=1379"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oldgriffy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_2364-rotated.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oldgriffy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_2364-rotated.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oldgriffy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_2364-rotated.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oldgriffy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_2364-rotated.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":617,"url":"https:\/\/oldgriffy.com\/?p=617","url_meta":{"origin":918,"position":4},"title":"My Pilgrimage Experience in 2023","author":"Old Griffy","date":"April 19, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"(Part One) Stephen Griffith Stepping Out of the Boat I was working at my desk on a new project in the summer of 2023, having just come to the end of a three-year musical endeavor that, toward the end, had begun to bore me. 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