The medieval pilgrims routes in the Apulian settlements and their relationship with Rome and Santiago de Compostela

The medieval pilgrims routes in the Apulian settlements and their relationship with Rome and Santiago de Compostela The Medieval cave settlements and cave churches in the Apulia region, in southern Itlay, created with their frescoes, along the pilgrims roads and the Ancient Appia route, a connection with the grave of Saint James in Santiago de Compostela. Indeed during the Middle Age the Church and the local nobles and feudatories used the Apulian medieval pilgrims’ routes for religious and marketing purposes linking Apulian Cave frescoes churches with Santiago de Compostela, therefore one of the aim of the research is to retrace the pilgrims routes basing on the images of the Saints painted in some frescoes and to create a veritable virtual link of the Apulian medieval cave churches with Saint James’ tomb in Santiago de Compostela thanks to the representation of the Saint bringing the pecten iacobeus (shell of St. James) and the Pilgrim’s bagshow. Aim of the research, applied to the proposed study area of the ravines and cave churches of Apulia, is to analyse, plan and restructure the ancient routes and livestock trail paths of the area by means of the files found in the archives in order to “redraw” the historical, social and environmental landscape and present it as paths with strong touristic interest with reference to the Apulian ravines area, the agricultural and forest landscapes and the traditional farmhouses.