Toulouse International Symposium, April 4-5
“Les chemins de Compostelle, European cultural route and world heritage: History, challenges and prospects.”
On April 4 and 5, 2024, an international symposium entitled “Les chemins de Compostelle, itinéraire culturel européen et patrimoine mondial: Histoire, enjeux et perspectives” was held in Toulouse. The event was organized by IDETCOM, Institut du Droit de l’espace, des Territoires, de la Culture et de la Communication at the University of Toulouse, under the patronage of UNESCO, the French Ministry of Culture and Communication, and the Régions de France.
The symposium was international in scope, with participants from Spain, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Poland, Canada, the USA, Brazil and even Japan. The University of Toulouse made a major contribution to the richness and diversity of the papers presented. Not only medieval historians, but also geographers, sociologists, anthropologists, musicologists, economists, land-use and rural specialists, heritage curators and religious scholars shared their latest research on the Pilgrim’s Way to Santiago de Compostela. The Chemin de Compostelle emerged as a vast subject for academic study. Discussions took place in French, Spanish and English.
Studies have highlighted the challenges of the Chemin, which can be seen on many different scales: global, national, regional and territorial. Much has been said about “heritage”, the dangers of the museification of cultural buildings and religious monuments, and the current craze for this form of spiritual tourism.
Invited by the Agence Française des Chemins, SFASJC was present with three representatives and a stand at the entrance to the large and magnificent conference hall, also known as the Salle des Pèlerins. The city of Toulouse and the Occitanie region are heavily involved in promoting the Pilgrim’s Way, and the CHU (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire) has chosen an elegantly stylized shell as its new logo. We had the opportunity to exchange views with numerous speakers during breaks and lunches, and to make contacts that could eventually lead to joint events in Paris. It was also an opportunity to discuss one of the Société Française’s historic missions, which is to carry out studies and research on the Compostela pilgrimage, and our aim to revive the Centre d’Etudes Compostellanes (CEC).
Adeline Rucquoi, emeritus director of research at the CNRS and former president of the SFASJC and its CEC, worked with Christophe Alcantara to coordinate the scientific program and close the conference.
Over the course of these two intense days, which touched on many of the Way’s issues, we reaffirmed the essential role of the associations jacquaires, their mission to work closely with pilgrims, the living actors of the Way, the thousands of men and women who set out on these centuries-old itineraries throughout the year.
