According to legend, the tomb in Santiago was rediscovered in AD 814 by Pelagius the Hermit, after he witnessed strange lights in the night sky above the Libredon forest.

[6] In 997 the early church was reduced to ashes by Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir (938–1002), army commander of the caliph of Córdoba.

Construction of the present cathedral began in 1075 under the reign of Alfonso VI of Castile (1040–1109) and the patronage of bishop Diego Peláez.

It was built according to the same plan as the monastic brick church of Saint Sernin in Toulouse, probably the greatest Romanesque edifice in France.

[citation needed] It has been proposed that the peculiar lantern towers of several churches in the Duero valley (Zamora, Plasencia, Toro, Évora) were inspired by the Romanesque dome of Santiago, substituted by a Gothic one in the 15th century.

In order to protect the Pórtico da Gloria from deterioration caused by weather, this façade and towers have had several reforms since the 16th century.

It is diamond-shaped with two ramps that surround the entrance to the old 12th century Romanesque crypt of the Master Mateo, popularly called the "Old Cathedral".

On the tympanums is a large frieze separated from the upper body by a strip supported by grotesque corbels; on this floor are two windows decorated with Romanesque archivolts.

The original provision of the iconographic elements was invalidated since in the 18th century numerous images were introduced recovered from the dismantled Acibecharía façade.

[15] A central medallion shows the Eternal Father (or Transfiguration) with open hands and on the top surface there are four angels with trumpets heralding the Final Judgment.

In the left abutment, the Biblical King David seated on his throne with his legs crossed, translucent through the thin fabric of his clothes, and playing what appears to be a rebec, personifies the triumph over evil and is an outstanding Romanesque work, sculpted by Master Esteban.

In one of the jambs is the inscription commemorating the laying of the stone: Registration follows the Roman calendar, according to the computation of the Spanish era, corresponding to July 11, 1078.

Supported on the wall of the tower Berenguela appear other images representing the creation of Eve, Christ on a throne, and the Binding of Isaac.

[17] At the top of the façade is an 18th-century statue of St. James, with two kings in prayer at his feet: Alfonso III of Asturias and Ordoño II of León.

On the bottom and sides of the door were placed twenty-four figures of prophets and apostles (including St. James) coming from the old stone choir of Master Mateo.

[24][25] It is located to the left of the façade del Obradoiro, and was built – like its partner – on the opposite side of an earlier tower of the Romanesque period.

[23] When he became main master of the cathedral, Domingo de Andrade continued with its construction and between 1676 and 1680 raised it two floors higher; the use of various structures achieved a harmonious and ornamental design, with a pyramid-shaped crown and a lantern as a final element, with four light bulbs permanently lit.

[25] In 1833, a clock was placed on each side of the tower by Andrés Antelo, commissioned by the Archbishop Rafael de Vélez [es].

Compared with many other important churches, the interior of this cathedral gives a first impression of austerity until one enters further and sees the magnificent organ and the exuberance of the choir.

Surrounding Christ is the tetramorph with the figures of the four Evangelists with their attributes: left, top St. John and the eagle and below St. Luke with the ox; on the right above, St. Matthew on the hood of the tax collector and below St. Mark and the lion.

Some are, without touching them directly, the cross and crown of thorns (left) and lance and four nails (right), another the column in which he was whipped and the jar through which Pontius Pilate proclaimed his innocence.

In the archivolt of the central tympanum are seated the elders of the Apocalypse, each holding a musical instrument, as if preparing a concert in honor of God.

At the foot of the central column at the top inside, looking towards the main altar of the cathedral, there is the kneeling figure of the Master Mateo himself, holding a sign on which is written Architectus.

Other sources give an apocalyptic interpretation, with wars, famine and death (represented by the beasts) with situations that can only be saved by human intelligence (the heads of older men).

In the center of the first archivolt is God the Creator who blesses the pilgrim and holds the Book of Eternal Truth; to his right are Adam (naked), Abraham (with the index raised), and Jacob.

In the Chapel of the Reliquary (Galician: Capela do Relicario) is a gold crucifix, dated 874, containing an alleged piece of the True Cross.

The silver reliquary (by José Losada, 1886) was put in the crypt at the end of the 19th century, after authentication of the relics by Pope Leo XIII in 1884.

The Santiago de Compostela Botafumeiro is the largest censer in the world, weighing 80 kg (180 lb) and measuring 1.60 m (5.2 ft) in height.

It is normally on exhibition in the library of the cathedral, but during certain important religious holidays it is attached to the pulley mechanism, filled with 40 kg (88 lb) of charcoal and incense.

Eight red-robed tiraboleiros pull the ropes and bring it into a swinging motion almost to the roof of the transept, reaching speeds of 80 km/h (50 mph) and dispensing thick clouds of incense.