The international nature of Santiago de Compostela in the 12th century cannot be understood without the exceptional figure of Diego Gelmirez (1070?1140). Immediately after Diego Gelmirez became bishop, he undertook the struggle to achieve metropolitan dignity; this was obtained in 1120 and he gained the privilege of becoming the first archbishop of Santiago. In the following decades the so-called Pilgrims Way to Santiago grew like never before, placing the pilgrimage on the same level as Rome and Jerusalem and turning the apostles village into one of Christendoms main pilgrimage centres. Compostela and Europe. The History of Diego Gelmirez is published in conjunction with the same title travelling exhibition.