If we look at the cartographic map of Western Europe, there are very few places that could be considered more geographically peripheral than Galicia. It has been historically considered the continental land's end, the finis terrae, a designation shared with Brittany—also on the outer limits of the continent and the Roman Empire—with which Galicia has many cultural and historical connections. Galicia's position in the geographical periphery has also often meant being away from the centers of political and economic power, and therefore situated in a marginal and inferior position. In some significant ways, its present political, economic, and cultural situation within the Spanish nation state is that of a double periphery, frequently invisible and inaudible from the center. But, over its history, the area that we now know as Galicia has gone through many changes in its geopolitical boundaries and cultural position in regard to the center, from the total autonomy of the Suevian kingdom to the medieval splendor to the progressive marginalization by the Castilian hegemony in the modern era with the formation of the Spanish nation state, and its massive expansion overseas through the Galician diaspora. Galicia's geographical peripherality did not preclude Santiago de Compostela from becoming a center of Christendom for centuries, a crossroads of multiple routes leading to Santiago, which has re-emerged as a global cultural phenomenon in recent years and generated numerous audio/visual productions. Galicia's outward Atlantic position has historically enabled its people to travel far and wide, to build the largest fishing fleet in Europe, and to establish connections around the world, mixing with other cultures and creating a rich cultural tapestry beyond the confines of the Galician land.