The Archive of the Cathedral of Santiago has presented a new facsimile edition of the Codex Calixtinus, the medieval manuscript that serves as a spiritual and logistical guide for the Camino de Santiago. The first copy of this reproduction will be a direct gift to Pope Leo XIV, in a gesture aimed at securing his visit to the city during the upcoming Holy Year. The initiative combines heritage conservation with ecclesiastical diplomacy.
Digital reproduction and artisanal binding for a 12th-century manuscript 📜
The edition has been produced using high-resolution spectral photography to capture every detail of the original parchment, including marginal annotations and polychrome miniatures. The printing process used pigmented inks on acid-free paper, with a weight that simulates the texture of the medieval support. Each copy has been hand-bound with wooden covers covered in leather, following 12th-century techniques. Fewer than one hundred numbered copies have been produced.
The Pope will receive a book that was once taken by a thief 🏃♂️
This facsimile arrives after the original Codex experienced its own action adventure in 2011, when an electrician stole it from the cathedral and kept it hidden in his home for years. Now, instead of a plumber with literary ambitions, the recipient is the Pope himself. That a stolen and recovered book ends up as a pontifical gift sounds like a movie script, but no one here has asked for copyright.