WHAT TO SEE
Aragonese Route 1: From Somport to Jaca
The Aragonese route starts from Somport pass, where pilgrims can visit the ruins of the old hospital of Santa Cristina, built in the 11 C. The Aragonese monarch, Sancho Ramírez is known to have visited it. The pass was mentioned in the 5th book of the Códex Calixinus (12 C) as a halt along the route to Santiago.
Pilgrims leave this beautiful town by the bridges of Santa Cristina and Ruso, and continue to Los Arañones and Canfranc, the first Hispanic town on this branch of the route, founded as far back as the 11 C. This Medieval town, famous for its Modernist railway station, retains its original layout. Pilgrims leave the village through a Medieval bridge and head towards Villanúa, with a 12 C bridge, the church of San Esteban -which contains beautiful carvings from the 15 C-, the church of San Vicente (12 C) and a 15 C fortified house. The route crosses Aruej (a small Romanesque church) and Castiello de Jaca (ruins of a castle), continues past the hermitage of San Cristóbal, and then leads to Jaca, the final stop of the 1st stage of the Aragonese route.
This important town was the kingdom of Aragon´s first capital city from 1035 to 1096, after being conquered by the Romans. Formerly, the town had five parish churches, two hospitals and a cathedral. This, Spain´s oldest Romanesque cathedral, can still be visited, together with the Monastery of the Benedictines, which treasures the Romanesque sepulchre of the infanta Doña Sancha, one of the best preserved in the Iberian Peninsula.