Cruces

Cruces is a parish in the municipality of Padrón, in the province of A Coruña, Galicia. The name means crosses, referring to the wayside cruceiros or roadside cross monuments common throughout Galicia, which typically marked crossroads, boundaries, or sites of devotion.

The village occupies the rural terrain north of Padrón, where the Camino Português makes its final approach toward the Santiago metropolitan area. The landscape retains the Galician smallholder character: maize, vine, stone walls, and the occasional hórreo granary.

Cruces is among the last genuinely rural waypoints before the route enters the built-up area approaching Santiago de Compostela, making it a transitional locality on one of the Camino’s most emotionally charged final stages.