Page 164 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Northern Spain

162  NOR THERN SP AIN REGION B Y REGION

y Viana
Navarra. Road Map B5. * 4,000.
n Plaza de los Fueros 1; 948 44 63 02.
( Fri. _ Santa María Magdalena
(21–25 Jul).
In the Middle Ages, Viana was
an important strategic town,
fortified to defend Navarra from
Castilian invasions, and a stop on
the pilgrimage route of St James.
Its massive town walls with four
gates date from that period, as
do the castle and churches of
Santa María and San Pedro. Viana
thrived between the 16th and The monumental Gothic palace in Olite
18th centuries, when aristocrats
built Renaissance and Baroque important defensive role by i Olite
palaces, decorated with coats guarding the Pamplona road.
of arms, wrought-iron balconies It was first mentioned in a Navarra. Road Map B5. * 3,900. @
n Plaza Teobaldos 10; 948 74 17 03.
and wooden eaves. 10th-century Arabic chronicle. _ Virgen del Cólera (26 Aug), Fiestas
Preserved to this day is the The old quarter, with its Medievales (2nd half of Aug), Fiestas
Gothic Iglesia de Santa María, cobbled streets, retains a Patronales (13–19 Sep). ∑ olite.es
with a 16th-century Plateresque medieval feel. The originally
façade. Its small windows testify Gothic Iglesia de Santa María, Olite, once a royal residence
to the building’s original rebuilt in the 16th to 18th of the kings of Navarra, still
defensive purpose. Fine centuries, is a monumental has fragments of Roman and
18th-century paintings by Luis structure of rather spartan medieval walls. In the 15th
Paret y Alcázar hang in the appearance. The Iglesia de century, Carlos III set about
chapel of San Juan del Ramo. San Pedro – originally Roman- constructing here a monu-
Near Viana, above the esque – was also remodelled; mental eclectic Palacio Real,
Embalse de las Canas reservoir, its Baroque tower is crowned regarded as a gem of Navarrese
is a bird sanctuary. by an octagonal lantern. Gothic style. The palace was
meticulously rebuilt in the 19th
Environs century after a devasta ting fire.
Artajona, situated 11 km (7 miles) Next to the complex is a
northwest of Tafalla, is the only network of medieval under-
place in Navarra to feature ground passageways – remnants
completely preserved medieval of Carlos III’s plan to link his
walls (13th-century). The main residence with the palace in
element of the fortifications is Tafalla. The Gothic Iglesia de
the massive Gothic Iglesia de Santa María La Real features a
San Saturnino, which has loop- richly carved portal and a
holes in its walls and a tower superb Renaissance reredos. The
that served as a prison, a belfry highlights of the 12th-century
and an observation point. Iglesia de San Pedro Apóstol
Cesare Borgia (1475–1507) in Viana
The son of the corrupt Pope Alexander VI, Cesare Borgia
Detail of a bas-relief on the Iglesia de Santa was showered with a series of high church offices,
María in Viana becoming Bishop of Pamplona at 17 and a
cardinal at 22, but he left the Church to become
his father’s chief henchman, and married the
u Tafalla sister of Juan III of Navarra. Brutal and single-
minded, he was an effective politician and
Navarra. Road Map B5. * 11,000. @ soldier in Renaissance Italy, leading the
n C/Túbal 19; 948 70 16 54. ( Fri. papal armies in many campaigns. The
_ San Sebastián (20 Jan), Virgen de sudden death of his father in 1503 ended
la Asunción (14–20 Aug). his influence at the papal court. He fled
from Italy to Aragón, only to be imprisoned,
Legend has it that Tafalla was but escaped to Navarra, where Juan III was
founded by Tubal, Noah’s fighting against Castilian and French nobles. A monument to
grandson. What is known for Cesare died in a siege in 1507, in Viana. Cesare Borgia in Viana
sure is that it performed an
For hotels and restaurants see pp206–7 and pp221–2

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