[Gocamino] Pilgrims' office in Santiago

[Blaroli at aol.com]

Hello you all,
The "Dean" building,  at No. 1 Rua de Vilar,  wherein the Pilgrims' office is 
located belongs to the  Galician Xunta and for several years now there have 
been plans to renovate it somewhat.  But because the building is  a historical 
structure several hundred years old any work on it must be approved both by 
the "Ponencia Tecnica del Patrimonio"  (technical undertakings on historical 
buildings agency) and the Comision del Casco Historico  (historical Casco 
commissin).
Plans for the building renovations were drafted two years ago by the 
architect Ricardo Saez, and the Xunta set aside the necessary funds, however the 
approval of the above mentioned agencies was not forthcoming.
The Casco Historico Comission met last week and gave tentative approval to 
most of the proposed renovations.  The patio (inner courtyard) will be open and 
accessible to pilgrims; there will be storage facilities for backpacks and 
bicycles and bathrooms and showers for pilgrims will be installed. There will 
also be facilities for pilgrims to rest while they wait to request a Compostela, 
or to seek information.  Consequently, pilgrims will not have to wait on line 
out in the street or standing on the stairway as they have done until now.
However, the plans for a bar at the patio, or any food serving outlets, were 
not approved.

The Zapatero  Government in Spain cut drastically the subsidies previously 
available to religious institutions, including the Pilgrims' office which was 
compelled to cut its paid staff  in half.  Nevertheless, with the help of 
volunteers from Santiago Confraternities both from Spain and abroad, the office has 
managed to meet the needs of all the pilgrims seeking assistance. 
 Don Jenaro Cebrian Franco,  the head of the office, informs that the numbers 
of pilgrims this year is the largest ever for a non Xacobean Holy Year, and 
that  as the summer progresses the numbers are expected to be larger and 
larger.
Warm regards,
Rosina