Legend relates that a pilgrim from Valencia arrived in Castiello exhausted and worn out. He had neither the physical strength nor the will to continue to Santiago de Compostela. As a sign of gratitude to the village and the families that had taken him in and helped him, the pilgrim decided to give them everything he carried, and this is why Castiello is known as the “place of the hundred relics”. The mayor of the village has a key to a small, silver chest where the relics are kept and which is next to the sagrarium of the main altarpiece in the church of St Michael. They are displayed once a year only, on the first Sunday in July.

Castiello de Jaca is one of the main stopping points on the Santiago Pilgrimage Route in Aragón. The Romanesque church of St Michael and its surrounding elements, including the remains of a medieval cemetery with headstones, the old rectory, the southern meadow, the lintel of the main doorway and the crown of the bell tower, make up a collection of great historic significance. Access on foot to the village is from the north, via a well-maintained section of the Santiago Route and the exit is southwards down Santiago street, towards the river Aragon and the original “Camino” towards Jaca.

The church of St Michael dates from the 12th century but its present aspect is the result of a number of modifications to its structure, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries. The temple was extended, chapels were built between the buttresses, the bell tower was made and a large Barroque altarpiece was attached to the eastern end.


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