ABSTRACT
Galicia, with a population of approximately 2.7 million inhabitants and an area close to 30,000 square kilometres, is one of the Autonomous Communities of Spain. Its location on the occidental end of Europe (Figure 11.1) confers on it its two major characteristics as a regional space; those of being Atlantic and peripheral. Its Atlantic nature may be perceived in the marks left by the Ocean, non only on the environment but also on the successive patterns of human occupation throughout history. At the same time, Galicia's peripheral character arises from its situation in the north-western corner of the Iberian Peninsula - one of the most occidental areas in Europe itself - along with its traditional difficulties in terms of accessibility (Puyol Antolin and Vinuesa Angulo, 1995). This marginal location also affects Galicia's low level of relative development in the context of the European Union (Figure 11.1).
