Nighttime Compostela, look at me!
Live the city, illuminate the history
SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PLAN IN SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA
Nighttime Landscape Lighting
An exceptional urban and heritage environment, such as the one surrounding the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, which includes iconic buildings from various periods and entities, requires a highly unique, specific, and innovative solution. Therefore, the launch of this international competition aims to attract the best professional teams in the conceptualization and technical development of ornamental and monumental lighting from around the world.
This project focuses on achieving a new nighttime landscape in Compostela, one that respects the heritage and local values, and promotes a quality urban lighting culture for the enjoyment of both the citizens and visitors. We aspire to highlight the uniqueness of this monumental environment through its lighting and to ensure that everyone feels the experience of living in the city by illuminating our history. Nighttime Compostela, look at me!
The house of the Apostle: luminaria, star, and lamp.
The Cathedral of Santiago is a gigantic mass that rests in the heart of the town, on a cemetery area that gave rise to present-day Compostela. From the beginning, the monument has been associated with miraculous lights. First, there were the lights –luminaria– that indicated the place where the aedicula identified with the tomb of Saint James the Great and his disciples was located; later, with the success of the Jacobean pilgrimage, the Saint James Way became a Way of Stars -the Milky Way- leading to Compostela. In this way, an old and gloomy cemetery –compositum tellus– was transformed into a splendid and luminous Campus Stellae.
“The night is swept from the earth” Evolution of lighting in the city.
Lighting in Santiago evolved from the Medieval and Modern Ages, when darkness characterised the nocturnal atmosphere and the small streets, roads, and squares of Compostela were only illuminated by patrol torches and chapel candles, to the present day, where different layers of functional, ornamental, and commercial urban lighting coexist, multiplying the possibilities for cultural, productive, and recreational activities.
COMPETITION
Illumination of the nocturnal landscape
The International Competition for Ornamental and Artistic Lighting of the Monumental Surroundings of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela encompasses the spatial area defined by the Cathedral and the four magnificent and spacious squares that surround it: Obradoiro, Praterías, Quintana, and Inmaculada, along with their connecting elements.
To ensure its integrity and permanence over time, this area, the nucleus of the city of Santiago, has been extensively protected and recognised since 1940 in the fields of urban planning, architecture, and heritage. However, it is considered necessary to reflect and propose an adaptation of its nighttime image to contemporary times.
The International Competition is convened to advance towards the configuration of a sustainable tourist destination that improves the quality of life of residents and visitors, as established in the city’s Tourism Sustainability Plan, by developing action 3.1 Renovation of heritage lighting in the historic centre, framed within axis 3. Historic City and green strategy. This action, which aims to obtain the best lighting proposal to create the best nocturnal landscape for this space, aligns with the Plan’s objectives of:
- Reviving the vitality and versatility of the Historic City.
- Reinterpreting the heritage of Santiago from a sustainability perspective.
- Deepening the conservation and understanding of heritage in a context of contemporary functionality.
- Facilitating the ecological transition of the tourism sector through initiatives to mitigate climate change.
Access route to the terms and conditions:
On the State Procurement Platform, you must:
- Click on the magnifying glass [🔍]
- Click on Advanced tender search [“Busqueda avanzada de licitaciones”]
- Click on Tenders [“Licitaciones”]
- Enter the code CON2025000010 in the procedure field [“Expediente”]
- Click on Search [“Buscar”]
Jury
Each proposal in the International Competition for Ornamental and Artistic Lighting of the Monumental Surroundings of Santiago de Compostela’s Cathedral will be evaluated by a jury composed of distinguished international experts in lighting, urban planning, architecture, and heritage.
David Chipperfield
Architect and urban planner. Pritzker and Stirling Awards. With architectural studios open in London, Berlin, Milan, Shanghai, and Santiago de Compostela. Founder of the RIA Foundation.
Teresa Táboas
Architecture PhD, Professor. Vice President for Western Europe at the International Union of Architects (UIA). Minister for Housing of the Regional Government of Galicia (2005–2009). She has served as a member of the advisory committees on Sustainable Architecture and Urbanism of the Architects’ Council of Europe / European Parliament, on behalf of the Consejo Superior de los Colegios de Arquitectos de España.
Roger Narboni
Founder of the Concepto studio in Paris. Specializing in the design of urban, landscape, and architectural lighting projects, with 120 city master plans worldwide. He is the author of key publications in the field of lighting.
Esther Torelló
Editor of Lightecture magazine. Ambassador of Women in Lighting.
Manuel Antonio Castiñeiras González
Full Professor of Art History at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). President of the International Committee of Experts on the Camino de Santiago.
Awards
The International Competition for Ornamental and Artistic Lighting of the Monumental Surroundings of Santiago de Compostela’s Cathedral offers a prize of €100,000 (excluding taxes) for the winning proposal.
Six finalist projects will each receive €15,000 (excluding taxes) to assist with the development of technical lighting pre-projects.
The winning team will also execute a pilot lighting project in the Praza de Praterías, with a budget of €354,728.79 (excluding taxes) for the period 2025-26.
NEWS
A new opportunity in Cornes to learn about the finalist proposals in the international lighting competition for the area surrounding Santiago Cathedral
The City Council unveils the pilot project that will launch the new lighting scheme for the area around the Cathedral, starting in Praterías
Santiago City Council to present the new model for monumental lighting around the Cathedral with an exhibition at the Casa do Cabido
INTERVENTO wins the international competition for the lighting of the surroundings of the cathedral of Santiago
Santiago selects the proposal that will define the night-time landscape of the cathedral surroundings for the coming decades
Winning proposal of the international lighting competition for the surroundings of Santiago cathedral to be selected tomorrow
Three finalist proposals selected in the international lighting competition for the monumental surroundings of Santiago cathedral
Santiago launches the promotional campaign for ‘Night-time Compostela, Look at Me!’, the international artistic lighting competition for the Cathedral’s monumental surroundings
Santiago de Compostela City Council presents a pioneering international competition for the artistic lighting of the area surrounding the Cathedral
Santiago Launches Quick Guide for Its International Monumental Lighting Competition
Technical Documentation Now Available for the Santiago Lighting Competition
The Corporate Identity of "Nighttime Compostela, look at me!"
Nighttime Compostela, look at me! Live the city, illuminate the history
International Competition for Ornamental and Artistic Lighting of the Monumental Surroundings of Santiago de Compostela’s Cathedral
CONTACT
comunicacion@trivium.gal