PAMPLONA IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT.
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. 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.
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. 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.
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. 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. 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.
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. 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.
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. 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.
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. 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.
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. 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. 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).