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PAMPLONA
IN THE XVIII. THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT
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A tour
of eighteenth century civil architecture in Pamplona will help you get a
better idea of the city’s evolution precisely at a time when there was a
desire to modernise the city, in line with the enlightened trends of the
time.
Moreover, this perception of Pamplona can be very interesting since
the unquestionable attraction of the medieval history of Navarre often
eclipses the history of Pamplona in Modern Times.
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| It is precisely during the
eighteenth century when, according to Caro Baroja, the “time for Navarre
has come”, and this economic force the author is talking about is present
in the city’s streets.
Eighteenth century Pamplona had a centre for
higher education, the University of Santiago, where Philosophy and Theology
were studied until 1771. From 1757 medical classes were given in the General
Hospital, which is now the Museum of Navarre. Moreover, in the eighteenth
century, a sewer system was constructed with drains for each house and this
enabled the streets, once free from effluent, to be paved. Thanks to the
aqueduct designed by the architect Ventura Rodriguez, water was also brought
from Subiza. This architect was also responsible for designing the cathedral’s
new façade. To celebrate the great event that the supply of water to
Pamplona signified, 1798 marked the inauguration of a series of fountains
designed by Luis de Paret and, in line with all these reforms, they were
intended to modernise the city’s image. At the end of the century, a
public lighting system was installed. |
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The eighteenth century also saw the renovation
of many of the inhabitant’s houses and the construction of palaces by the
noblemen, leaving some good examples of baroque
architecture. This desire to
build did not only affect the aristocracy but also some civil and
ecclesiastical institutions that left their mark with the erection of their
respective institutional buildings such as the city Town Hall and the
Episcopal Palace.
This concern for the city was reflected in the Municipal By-Laws, regulating the construction of buildings and attempting to bring a
certain uniformity to the street distribution.
In the street of the
Navarrería, the most
representative building is that of the Marqués de Rozalejo (1). It looks
out onto the square of Santa Cecilia and enjoys an exceptional view within
the urban maze of the city’s old quarters.
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Given the fact that Pamplona,
as a frontier city, did not start to develop outside the city walls until
1888, when the first suburban extension was made, new ideas were restricted
to within the city’s walls in the area that is now called the Casco Viejo
or old quarters. This particularity has also contributed to the fact that
passers-by are not really aware of the buildings conserved in the present-day
old quarters since generally speaking, it has not been possible to create an
urban layout with sufficient space to enable the buildings to be easily
observed.
A house’s location within the urban framework
took on considerable importance and, in the specific context of eighteenth
century Pamplona, new spaces were created: the small squares. In actual fact
these were generally irregularly shaped spaces which, due to the
intersection of various streets, created a wider area than a normal street.
By locating the house in one of these small squares, there was a better view
of the façade, improving the appearance of the building. This interest in
giving more space to the façade and making it easier to contemplate had
already been experimented with in the seventeenth century, when the final
section of the Calle Jarauta street was widened to give a better view of the
recently constructed façade of the Carmelite convent. The house interior
also benefited from the presence of these small squares, allowing more light
to enter the building and improving the views.
This particular house pertained to the Aoiz-Guendica
family, which received the title of the Marquis of Rozalejo in 1832, the
date when the family coat of arms was placed on the palace. The typically
baroque façade underwent several modifications in the nineteenth century,
when its height was raised to make room for the coat of arms and windows
were inserted into the lower floor. Inside the house there is an ample
vestibule with a wide imperial staircase. The carpentry and fittings are
still conserved and also date back to the eighteenth century.
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The
Fountains designed by Luis Paret
To commemorate the supply of water to Pamplona, in 1788 a series of
fountains were installed in the city, designed by the Court painter Luis
Paret y Alcazar.
These
fountains, which are emblematic of the city of
Pamplona are located as follows: The Santa Cecilia fountain
(2), in the square with the same name; the Neptuno fountain (3), in
the Plaza del Consejo; the Obelisco fountain (4), in the plaza de las
Recoletas; and the Abundancia or Beneficencia fountain (5), located in the
Plaza del Castillo, and which has now been moved to the gardens of the
Taconera where it is popularly known as the "Mariblanca".
Go along the Navarrería street as far as the
cathedral and then along the Calle Dormitalería, a street that received its
name due to the fact that the cathedral Dormitalero once lived in it
(the officer in charge of the bed chambers). You will reach the square of
Santa María la Real, where the Episcopal Palace (6) is located.
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This square
dates back to 1945 when the former convent of La Merced was demolished to
construct the priestly retreat in 1952, on part of the land occupied by the
convent.
The Episcopal palace was erected between 1734
and 1740. This building is a blend between the architecture of the central
area of Navarre, where dressed stone is predominant, and the Ribera or
southern river plain of Navarre where bricks are the norm. Open galleries
crown the building.
The palace interior was partially renovated around 1973,
although the inner patio with arcades was left intact, this is repeated on
the last floor in the arched gallery appearing on the façade.
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The imperial
staircase, crowned with a pendentive dome with a central boss was also
conserved.
If you go back along the street of La Merced, a
former road in the Jewish quarters, towards the Bajada de Javier, you will
reach the Calle Estafeta. In this street you will find the façade of the
Goyeneche palace (7), named after the nobleman from the Baztan valley who
ordered it to be erected.
This façade is noted for the monumental portal
and the first floor balconies that still conserve the original carpentry.
From the Plaza del Castillo, you can contemplate the lantern illuminating
the building’s stairwell.
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The
Plaza del Castillo (8)
This square was named after the castle erected by Luis el Hutín in the
fourteenth century, and which was located at one of the corners of the
square. The building was subsequently replaced by the castle that Fernando
the Catholic ordered to be built and which, in turn, was demolished when the
modern citadel of Pamplona was built. Residences were not built in this area
for a long time, since the inhabitants of Pamplona lived in the heart of the
city centre. However, at least from the fourteenth century onwards, it was
used as a recreational and leisure area.
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In 1405, Carlos III organised a
series of jousts and tournaments in the square to commemorate the marriage
of his daughter, Beatriz, with prince Jacques de Borbon. The square was used
to hold bull festivals from 1385 onwards, when the first of these events is
documented, until 1844 when the primitive bullring was
constructed. When it
was no longer served as a bullring and place for holding shows, this area
continued to be used for leisure purposes, and the first coffee shops opened
there during the nineteenth century. In 1888, the Café Iruña opened its
doors in the building constructed by the architect from Logroño, Maximiano
Hijón, for the Crédito Navarro bank. In the eighteenth
century, the
Mariblanca fountain was installed in the centre of the square, designed by
Luis Paret. In 1910, the fountain was transferred to the gardens of the
Taconera when a wooden bandstand was installed in the square. In 1943, this
too was withdrawn and replaced with the bandstand that currently presides
over the square.
The Plaza del Castillo is still today a meeting
place and leisure area for the people from Pamplona and you will find a good
number of coffee shops and bars there to enjoy some relaxing moments. In
addition, from this square there is easy access to the rest of the streets
in the old quarters, where you can find the most traditional places for
shopping, enjoying tapas or a drink.
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The
Town Hall (9)
Was one of the buildings to be constructed as a result of the proclamation
of the Privilege of the Union by Charles III in 1423. The same document
determined the exact site for the Town Hall, in a gully at a point in which
the three boroughs converged: Navarrería, San Cernin and San Nicolás. The
present-day Town Hall was constructed between 1753 and 1759 to replace the
former building that was falling into ruin. The work was initially based on
the design by the master Juan Miguel de Goyeneta, however it was decided to
change the façade for the one that had been presented in 1755 by Jose Zay y
Lorda.
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The
sculptor, José Jiménez, was commissioned to create the
sculptures. The clock also dates back to the eighteenth
century, although
its machinery was replaced in 1991. All the interior decoration disappeared
in the renovation carried out in 1952.
The Town Hall door is guarded by two statues
representing Wisdom and Justice, at the top of the door stands the figure of
Fame with a bugle to proclaim the glories of the city. By his side, there
are two statues of Hercules, as a symbol of civic virtues. The Pamplona coat
of arms appears repeatedly on the façade.
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The
Calle Zapateria
Until the Privilege of the Union in the year 1423, the Calle Zapatería was
the main street of the borough of San Nicolas. In the eighteenth century
this street achieved great social standing within the urban area and this is
evidenced in the buildings there, with baroque palaces and numerous coats of
arms on the houses.
One of the most interesting constructions to be
found there is a building known as the Navarro – Tafalla palace (10).
The
Captain, Knight of the Order of Santiago and India trader, Mr Juan Francisco
Adan y Perez who was made a nobleman in 1746, ordered it to be constructed.
In the interior, the original stairway is still conserved and the vestibule
contains some spectacular baroque work, with its two bodies covered by a
polygonal vault with lunettes, under which windows open in the lantern body.
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From the vault centre, as with many baroque stairways, hangs a rosette. The
floor is covered with pebbles and bones in a curious floral motif. |
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| The Guendulain palace (11) is also worthy of
note, constructed in the eighteenth century by the Eslava de Enériz family,
noblemen returning from South America, who paid for part of the church of
their town.
After the marriage of Magdalena Eslava with the count of
Guenduláin,
the building became linked to this Navarro title.
In 1845, this house became
a royal residence for a few days, since Isabel II stayed there with her
entourage. The house façade, one of the longest in the
city, is three
storeys high.
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The first floor corresponds to what is generally known as the
noble floor, destined for the principal bedrooms of the lords of the house
and important rooms such as the drawing rooms, from which they would
probably watch all the processions and events taking place along this
important street in the Old Quarters.
The
Calle Mayor or Main
Street
Is the
emblematic thoroughfare of the historic city, the old road taken by the
pilgrims to Santiago, linking the parish of San Saturnino with that of San
Lorenzo. Gradually, when the boroughs were united in 1423, it became the
principal street in the city, bringing together numerous guilds and trades,
such as the silversmiths, leather craftsmen, bag makers, glove makers
amongst others. It still conserves several eighteenth century baroque houses
and noble shields, indicating the social strength in the area.
Next to the church of San Saturnino, you will
find the Casa del Condestable (12). This building was constructed for the IV
count of Lerin in the middle of the sixteenth century, and was later linked
to the house of the Duke of Alba, who assigned it to different institutions
in the city. In this way, the bishops of Pamplona resided here during the
seventeenth century until 1732, the year in which they moved to their new
palace. The Council also occupied this building, whilst the work on the new
building was being concluded. The original building dates back to the
sixteenth century, however, in the nineteenth century considerable
renovation work was carried out.
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In 1891,
Pedro Arrieta modified its façades, joining them at an angle with bay
windows, with the peculiarity that this was to be the first angled façade
in the old part of Pamplona. At the end of the street, next to San Lorenzo,
you will find the Ezpeleta palace (13), constructed between 1709 and 1711 as
the residence of the Marqueses of San Miguel de Aguayo and which is
currently the property of the Council of Pamplona. You can still see the
effects of a cannon shot launched during the Carlist war on one of the
balcony’s iron fittings. On the portal entablature there are some ornate
carved decorations with themes allusive to war, depicting soldiers with
canons, swords, trophies, military dress, etc symbolising the political
posts of the palace’s mentor, Mr Agustin de Echeverz y Subiza, Marques of
San Miguel de Aguayo, governor and captain general of the New Kingdom of
Leon, in addition to the principal governor of the Kingdom of Navarre, this
latter title may have something to do with the figure of Justice crowning
the coat of arms.
Inside there is an ample vestibule and a
magnificent imperial staircase giving access to the floor used by the
nobility. The south side of the palace has an ample sun parlour designed as
a gallery of rounded arches. This can be seen from the Calle San Francisco
(14).
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Haga
su reserva de hotel aquí
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Asociación de Hoteles de
Pamplona. C/ Pedro I, 1-1º 31007 Pamplona (Navarra).
CIF G31/626526 - info@hotelespamplona.com
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