The city of Santiago de Compostela (population 93,000) is located in northwestern Spain in the autonomía of Galicia. Santiago has been a major place of pilgrimage in the Roman Catholic church since the 9thcentury when the discovery was made nearby of the alleged bones of the apostle Saint James. Outside the city of Santiago, the Galician autonomous state is mainly agricultural, though fishing and timber are also important. Although the people in the four provinces speak Galician in their daily lives, a language that closely resembles Portuguese, they also understand and speak Spanish. Courses at the university are taught in both Spanish and Galician. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, which recently celebrated its 500th birthday, is located in buildings throughout the city.