A walk around Santiago 's streets reveals small shops and workshops that embody the city's thousand-year-old custom of receiving traditional crafts from all over Europe . Patient creativity, sold under the “Artesanía de Compostela” brand, results in a variety of articles from hats to crockery, from candles, votive offerings and religious images to ornamental wrought iron, engravings, glass, gold and silver articles, enamel, ceramics or leather from more than 300 workshops.

This intensive craftwork has left its mark on the city map, which is full of the names of different trades, some of which no longer exist. This is the case of the Concheiros and Pelamios neighbourhoods -where the sellers of shells and tanners, respectively, used to be located- or the As Praterías (silver work) and Acibechería (jet stone work) squares. Moreover, a trade is behind the traditional nickname, picheleiros, that is given to Compostela residents. The term comes from “pichel” (a tin pitcher) and suggests that tin work, to make barrels, milk urns and household items, was long associated with the city, probably in the street that is called Caldeirería (boilermaking).