The European Federation of Saint James Way has played an important role in the 11th edition of the Training Academy of the European Cultural Routes, an event of great importance at European level held from 4 to 7 June in Brindisi, Italy, with the participation of the certified cultural routes.

Ildefonso de la Campa, President of the European Federation, took part as a speaker in the first panel of the day, called “Pedestrian Routes in the framework of the European Cultural Routes”. In this panel, he shared space with other relevant personalities such as Elena Dubinina, from Via Francigena; Hans Morten Løvrød, from Route of Saint Olav Ways; and Martine Campangne, from Saint-Martin of Tours Route. During his speech, de la Campa underlined the differences between Pilgrimage and Tourism, and the importance of the Way of St. James in the promotion of European values. He also presented the main challenges for the future and the strategies for the development of the Way of St. James in Europe.

The Federation was also represented by Catarina Chaves, representative of Vila Pouca de Aguiar, and secretary of the European Federation, in the working group on “Tourism”. In this working group, Chaves shared the session with personalities such as Matteo Nardin, from the European Travel Commission; Inger Harlevi, from The Hansa; and Miguel Ángel Martín Ramos, from European Routes of Emperor Charles V, among others. Among the topics discussed was the challenge of developing non-massified pilgrimage routes, based on the historical rigour and authenticity of the territories, in a globalised tourism context.

In addition, Pilar Gómez Bahamonde, director of the Fundación Camino Lebaniego de Cantabria, participated in the working group on “Sustainability”. In this group, Gómez Bahamonde shared reflections with experts such as Stefanie Bischof, from The Hansa; Angelofabio Attolico, from the region of Apulia; and Peter Backes, from the European Route of Industrial Heritage, among others. The “Steps for LIFE” project presented was chosen as an example of good practice for the conservation of ecosystems and endangered species along the Camino de Santiago in Portugal and Spain.

Partnership agreement with Via Francigena

In the framework of the Training Academy, the European Federation of Saint James Way and the Via Francigena signed an important collaboration agreement. This agreement aims to encourage the joint promotion of both European cultural routes, thus reinforcing their presence and relevance in the cultural and touristic field at continental level.

These interventions at the Training Academy are testimony to the Federation’s commitment to the promotion and development of the cultural routes, and its prominent role in discussions and debates at European level. Once again, the EFSJW has reaffirmed its position as a relevant actor in the preservation and dissemination of Europe’s rich culture.

Training Academy 2024

The Training Academy, which took place in Brindisi, Italy, from 4 to 7 June 2024, is an initiative organised by the European Institute of Cultural Routes  and in its 2024 edition by the European Association of the Via Francigena Roads, with the support of the Puglia Region and the City of Brindisi.

The theme of this edition was “European cooperation and sustainable development”, and was attended by representatives of 39 of the 47 Cultural Routes certified by the Council of Europe. The conclusions of the meeting can be consulted on the website of the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe, highlighting their importance for the dissemination of European cultural routes.

Thanks to a grant from the European Union, the Council of Europe and the European Commission, the project “The Way must go on” was implemented in Vinnytsia and Khmelnytskyi regions. As part of it, it was possible to research and promote the Camino Podolico route thanks to the gastronomic component. As a result, a gastronomic catalog of the route was published, as well as a series of videos, and the communities of the route joined the European Heritage Days for the first time.

The Saint James Way of Podillya (Camino Podolico) is a cultural and pilgrimage route from Vinnytsia to Kamianets-Podilskyi created in 2021 with the prospect of joining the European Federation of Saint James Way. Its drivers are the communities of Vinnytsia, Bar, Kamianets-Podilskyi and other 8 communities of Vinnytsia and Khmelnytskyi regions.

This route was launched despite the challenges of the pandemic, but in 2022, due to the military aggression of Russia, it had to be put on hold – primarily for security reasons. Despite this, several dozens of travelers completed Camino Podolico even during martial law. And the initiators of the creation of the route – local administrations, activists, representatives of various institutions – continue to consider it to be a powerful factor in uniting communities for the sake of preserving and popularizing history, culture, tourism and recreation in their territory, and show great interest in the development of the route.

In order to preserve the potential and give communities the opportunity to develop, the team of the department of city marketing and tourism of Vinnytsia City Council is actively continuing work on the project. In June of this year Vinnytsia as the coordinator of the Camino Podolico route was unanimously accepted to the European Federation of Saint James Way, which opened new possibilities for international cooperation. Also, in the summer, a sculpture of Saint James – the symbolic starting point of Camino Podolico – was consecrated in Vinnytsia. And thanks to grant support from the European Union and the Council of Europe it was possible to implement a project “The Way must go on” – expeditions to research and document the local intangible heritage: gastronomy, local legends and customs, history of monuments and their owners along the entire Saint James Way of Podillya route.

Thanks to a number of activities, communities received an incentive to develop, work with tourists, build basic infrastructure, and most importantly – protect and develop local heritage.

The result of several months of work of the project team, together with researchers and experts, was the release of a gastronomic catalog and videos about the gastronomic heritage of 11 communities of Camino Podolico, as well as publications and popularization of the route in the national media.

The gastronomic catalog includes 22 recipes of authentic dishes of Podillya both in Ukrainian and in English. With a list of places on the Camino Podolico where these dishes can be tasted, travelers will be able to taste Podillya and thus immerse themselves more deeply in the culture of the region. Among the dishes are cherry borscht and stuffed chicken necks from Vinnytsia, tripes from the stomach of a young calf from Voroshylivka (near Hnivan), pickled cucumber stew from Brailiv, varenyky with cherries in jelly and stuffed pike from Zhmerynka, cabbage rolls with pork ribs from the time of Queen Bona and milk jelly from Bar, white borscht from Maliivtsi and many other interesting dishes of local Podillya cuisine.

At the same time, workshops were held in the communities of Vinnytsia and Khmelnytskyi regions, located on the tourist route, to start European Heritage Days there. As a result, 6 communities on the Camino Podolico route joined in the celebration of EHD.

For example, in the village of Shchitky of the Vinnytsia community, workshops were held dedicated to cattail weaving, the traditions of which are included in the list of intangible cultural heritage of Ukraine. In Kamianets-Podilskyi, the ancient local dance “Varvarka” was recreated with a gastronomic fair where the traditional dishes of Podillya cuisine were prepared. Excursions for children were organized in Vinkivtsi, where they were told about the historical past of the region, helped to explore typical plants of the area and create botanical illustrations. In Dunaivtsi, local craftsmen participated in the EHD and held a series of events with excursions and workshops: on Easter eggs painting, making souvenirs and pictures from feathers, drying plums, woodcarving, traditional pottery, etc. In Zinkiv, the peculiarities of the intangible cultural heritage elements were investigated: ceramics, decorative painting, Easter eggs painting and the Zinkiv shirt, followed by the production of printed products, which can become a souvenir-hallmark of the village. And in the city of Bar, visitors of the local library were involved in creating a series of puzzles with photos of historical monuments of the region – “Seven Wonders of Bar region”.

All these activities made it possible to present the cultural life and heritage of the communities of Vinnytsia and Khmelnytskyi regions, which are in the rear, as a powerful resource for preserving identity and using it for the purposes of public dialogue, economic growth and promotion of the values of united Europe, which is especially relevant in the context of this year’s EHD theme “Living Heritage”. Such activity and inclusion of communities once again confirms that Ukrainians in the current conditions continue to fight for the preservation of their history and cultural identity.

Also, thanks to the expeditions during the project “The Way must go on”, problematic issues and ways to solve them were worked out. And in the vast majority of communities, communication has been renewed and new coordinators of the Camino Podolico route have been chosen. The communities themselves expressed their intention to resume the functioning of the route in the next season, and in addition, despite the challenges of today, to deepen the knowledge of their residents (in particular, displaced persons who found shelter there) and residents of other regions about history and local traditions.

The material is published as a part of the grant project “The Way must go on” implemented by the department of city marketing and tourism of the Vinnytsia City Council with the support of the European Union and the Council of Europe.

The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union or the Council of Europe.

The gastronomic catalog

Videos about the gastronomic heritage

The president of the European Federation of Saint James Way Ildefonso de la Campa Montenegro visited six communities of Saint James Way of Podillya: Vinnytsia, Hnivan, Bar, Zinkiv, Maliivtsi and Kamianets-Podilskyi.

Mr. de la Campa stayed in Ukraine from October 31 to November 3. His trip was dedicated to the cultural and pilgrimage route Camino Podolico, which this year was officially accepted into the European Federation of Saint James Way. He emphasized the importance of supporting Ukraine as a member of the Federation, which fights for the values of the entire civilized world.

«Today, a part of the Saint James Way, a country through which the Saint James Way runs, is fighting to defend and maintain the signs that define it as a European, free and democratic society. The European Federation of the Saint James Way and the administrations that represent it have already expressed and express their support to the struggle of the Ukrainian people for their freedom, sovereignty and independence in the face of the unjustified war of aggression of the Russian Federation. In this struggle you are not alone. Your heroic resistance is the first retaining wall against intolerance, aggression, the imposition of the strongest and violence as state policy… The Saint James Way are the veins through which our blood flows and mixes, and today, in Europe, Ukrainian blood is watering a future of freedom, democracy and peace», – said Ildefonso de la Campa Montenegro.

The main event during the visit of the President of the Federation to Ukraine was the signing of the Memorandum of cooperation to develop and popularize the Saint James way in Ukraine. Mayors of Vinnytsia, Hnivan, Bar and Kamianets-Podilskyi took part in the signing. The document is open, so the representatives of other Ukrainian communities and organizations who are willing to develop the pilgrim routes of the Saint James way in Ukraine are welcome to join.

All the signatories emphasized that for Ukrainians (civilians and veterans), walking the path during the war and post-war period can become an effective way of psychological recovery, reinterpretation of trauma and search for new meanings, because the popularity of the Camino in the world is largely determined by the desire of people to change their rhythm of life, gain a new experience of self-immersion and spiritual practices (regardless of religion or worldview).

In total, the head of the Federation visited three communities each in the Vinnytsia and Khmelnytskyi regions on the way of the Camino Podolico. In Vinnytsia he visited Castle Hill and the oldest city churches of the 17^th-18^th centuries, got acquainted with the exhibition “Under the Protection of the Defenders” in the Artynov Tower. He also met the abbot of the starting point of Camino Podolico – Church of the Blessed Holy Virgin Mary of Angels Józef Chromy. In Hnivan, the guest attended a service in the sanctuary of St. Joseph, and in Bar went to the folk museum of Bar ceramics and walked near the main sights of the city.

The President of the Federation also visited the wooden church of St. Michael the Archangel and the remains of the Zinkiv fortress, and the Orłowski estate in Maliivtsi. At the end of the intense program in Kamianets-Podilskyi, he was awaited by a city tour with a visit to the fortress and a meeting with the bishop of the Roman Catholic Church, Leon Dubrawski.

During the meetings with representatives of municipalities, religious communities and public organizations, he discussed the perspective of international cooperation, the preparation of joint grant applications and the holding of events dedicated to Europe Day and European Heritage Days in 2024. The President of the Federation also witnessed the first results of the project “The Way must go on”, aimed at studying and popularizing the gastronomic heritage of the route.

While sharing his impressions of the trip, Ildefonso de la Campa noted that he saw in Ukraine an example of strong and effective cooperation between municipalities, as well as an active civil society that, even in wartime, works to preserve its own heritage, strengthen European identity, and build a democratic dialogue through culture and tourism. All this, according to the president, is the key to the successful development of such cultural routes of the Council of Europe as the Saint James Way.