Page 163 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Northern Spain

NA V ARR A AND LA RIOJA  161

portal and 12th-century cloister.
The north portal of the Iglesia
de San Miguel (12th- to 14th-
century) is adorned with a bas-
relief depicting St Michael
slaying a dragon. Preserved on
Calle Mayor are several houses
with coats of arms, including a
17th-century Baroque palace.

t Monasterio de
Irache
Ayegui (Navarra). Road Map B5.
@ Monastery: Tel 948 55 44 64.
Open 10am–1:15pm & 4–7pm Wed–
The 11th-century bridge in Puente la Reina Sun (to 6pm in winter). 8 book in
e Puente la Reina r Estella (Lizarra) advance. Museo del Vino: Tel 948 55
19 32. Open 10am–2pm & 4–6pm Sat
Navarra. Road Map B5. * 2,900. @ Navarra. Road Map B5. * 13,700. @ & Sun (until 7pm in summer).
n Calle Mayor 105; 948 34 13 01. n C/San Nicolás 1; 948 55 63 01. 8 noon Mon–Sat; book in advance.
( Sat. 8 _ Santiago (24–30 Jul). ( Thu. 8 _ San Andrés (1st week
Aug). ∑ estellaturismo.com The word iratze means “fern” in
Puente la Reina takes its Basque, and there were probably
name from the seven-span, King Sancho Ramírez, who many ferns growing in the
humpbacked bridge built here founded Estella in the 11th vicinity when the Benedictine
for pilgrims in the 11th century. century, ensured that the pil- monks began construction of
On the central section that grimage route to Santiago their monastery in the 11th
no longer exists stood passed through the century. The pilgrims’ hostel here
a figure of the Virgen town. Today, Estella is was the first to be built in the
del Txori, which was famous for its historic region. Since the monastery has
transferred to the churches, palaces and always been inhabited, the entire
church of San Pedro monas teries, for which complex has been preserved in
in the 19th century. it has been dubbed the excellent condi tion. It comprises
On the opposite Toledo of the North. a 12th-century church, a cloister
side of town rises the Close to the Ega river in the Plateresque style, a tower,
Romanesque-Gothic stands the Palacio de and a Spanish Baroque build ing
Iglesia del Crucifijo Coat of arms on a los Reyes de Navarra, that served as a university from
(13th-century), a house in Estella the only surviving 1569 to 1824. The aisle less
church ostensibly built by example of secular Romanesque church features three semi-
the Knights Templar. A walkway architecture in the province. Near circular apses. The famous
above the beautifully sculpted it, crowning a steep hill, is the Bodegas Irache next to the
entrance connects the church Iglesia de San Pedro de la Rúa, monastery provides thirsty pil-
with the pilgrims’ hostel. with an original 13th-century grims with a free glass of wine.
Inside the church is a 14th-
century Y-shaped crucifix
that was carved from a single
tree trunk.
Environs
Isolated in fields about 5 km
(3 miles) east of Puente la Reina
is the tiny Romanesque Ermita
de Santa María de Eunate,
built in the 12th century. The
hermitage’s irregular octagonal
plan is clearly visible on the
Mozarabic-inspired vaulting.
Around the church runs a
remarkable cloister with many
arches; some claim the
hermitage is named after the
cloister – in Basque ehun atea
means “one hundred doors”. The Romanesque Palacio de los Reyes de Navarra in Estella

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