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Camino de la Lengua Castellana

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Useful information
Camino de la Lengua Foundation
www.caminodelalengua.com

A route to discover the cradle, the light, the silences and the most agitated features of a language, Castilian, which every day caressed more ears in the land.

Around the 11th century a certain student or preacher noted, in the margins of Latin text, the first testimony written in the Castilian language which has survived until our times. They are the famous “ Emilian Glosses” of the Riojan monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla, the cradle of a language which is now used by more than 400 million people. These first utterings of Castilian continued in the “Silos Glosses”, recorded in the Burgos monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos. The universities of Salamanca and Valladolid bestowed Castilian with imperial and universal dimensions. The ability to think and imagine was patent in great novels such as El Lazarillo de Tormes and La Celestina. Saint Teresa of Jesus and Saint John of the Cross gave form to their creative breath in the convents and retreats of Ávila. Finally, Castilian reached its peak in Alcalá de Henares, the home town of the much-loved author of Don Quijote. Return to the origins and travel the landmarks of this Route of the Language by visiting the monuments and relics, their folds and decorations, so that they may reveal to us the glories of the past.

This route has been designated a Major Cultural Route by the Council of Europe.