Gipuzkoa gives you the chance to be a digital pilgrim

With the new ‘Ignaziotar Lurraldea 360’ tool you can remotely explore the land of St Ignatius Loyola

Historical and religious tourism just got a great digital boost with the unveiling of the ‘Ignaziotar Lurraldea 360’ (Ignatian Territory 360) virtual tour platform. This was done by the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council's Tourism Department (Spain) to commemorate the 500^th anniversary of the religious conversion of the founder of the Jesuit Order, St Ignatius Loyola, and the 400^th anniversary of his being promoted to sainthood.

The Ignatian Territory in question refers to the area of towns and sanctuary linked to the life of the Basque saint. Visitors can access Ignaziotar Lurraldea 360 from their phone or laptop and embark on a journey to Azpeitia (the birth town of St Ignatius Loyola), Azkoitia (where his mother was born) and the Loyola Sanctuary.

Tourism of territories and identities

Thanks to high-resolution photographs a visitor can seamlessly move in and out of objects and explore the settlements the way you would play a video game.

In the words of project developer Uxue Montero, "in eight months of work, we have taken 16,600 high-resolution photographs to digitize 5 sites on a cultural route covering an area of ​​172 square kilometres, using state-of-the-art technology to accurately represent these heritage resources." 

Montero also emphasized that a great deal of effort had been made to make its use "easy and intuitive" and that a great deal of information was gathered: "Each location contains texts explaining works, history and sometimes musical performances".

The online tool is available in 4 languages ​​(Basque, Spanish, French and English), and all explanations are also available in sign language.

For her part, Nagore Alkorta, the mayor of Azpeitia, stated: “We fully agree with the Gipuzkoa Tourism Strategy and are committed to sustainable tourism. It was a good time to adapt to the new habits of digital consumption and thus be able to reach new audiences. And this project combines culture, heritage, nature and identity, which, together with the Basque language, represents us as a territory.”

If you have nowhere to go this week, why not sit back and take a virtual trip to the Ignatian Territory? And although rains and clouds are a common sight in the Basque Country, the weather online is always guaranteed to be good.