Paper short abstract:

The phenomenon of heritagizaton has allowed CPIS to be revitalized as well as the appreciation of historical heritage. We intend to demonstrate how the various patrimonialization processes allowed the CPIS tourist dynamism and the development of a predominantly rural territory.

Paper long abstract:

In recent years, there has been a growing effort to recover and transform the old pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela, such as the Portuguese Inner Way of Santiago (CPIS).

CPIS is a medieval route and is one of the oldest pilgrimage routes in Portugal. It has 205 kilometers in portuguese territory, starting in the city of Viseu and continues through Lamego, Peso da Régua, Vila Real, Vila Pouca de Aguiar and Chaves, being in this locality that crosses the border and travels about 180 kilometers towards Santiago of Compostela. Recently, CPIS has seen a profound revitalization.

Based on fieldwork as a methodological option, we intend to demonstrate the various processes of heritagization triggered, identify who are the different agents and multidisciplinary perspectives involved in this process.

The conversion of CPIS into a tourist route, understood as the main result of heritagization initiatives, allows the development of a mostly rural territory (Balestrieri & Roseman, 2004) and the consequent transformation of this pilgrimage route, as a tourist resource, into a tourist product. Furthermore, it promotes sustainable development based on the promotion and commercialization of endogenous territorial resources (Arcila et al, 2015).