San Pedro Chuch, Olite, Spain - SpottingHistory.com

Construction of the San Pedro church began in the 12th century but continued over the next centuries, creating a hybrid of structures. It is located adjacent to the castle-like Royal Palace of Olite. The 52-meter-high Gothic bell-tower is capped by a pointed roof, and is known as Torre Aguja or 'Needle Tower'. The murals in the bell-tower were moved to the Museo de Navarre.

The main portal is highly decorated including with scenes of St George and the Dragon and a centaur fighting a harpy. The tympanum is a later addition, depicting Saints Peter, Andrew and James. The lintel depicts scenes of the life of Saint Peter. The facade has a Gothic rose window.

North of the church is a cloister with decorated Gothic columns. Some of the capitals depict scenes from Genesis.

The main retablo is dedicated to Saint Peter, and was completed in Baroque style. The canvases of Saint Fermín and Saint Francis Xavier are by Vicente Berdusán. The Chapel of the Virgen del Campanal was frescoed in the 13th century. These works are now preserved in the Museum of Navarre.

Inside the church is the tomb monument of the notary Enequo Pinel, built in 1432. A polychrome alabaster relief depicts the Trinity with three persons. The decorations were sculpted by Jean Lome de Tournay, sculptor for the court of Charles III of Navarre.

References:

Wikipedia

Religious sites in Spain

User Reviews

Hortibus (2 months ago)
Pretty church

M F M (3 months ago)
A real gem

alcotan304 (3 months ago)
Surprising Church that can be visited before or after mass in the short space that remains for it. Very beautiful and especially if you do not live in the area and come from another community. Noteworthy is the choir, the sculpture of Santiago Apostol or the altarpieces. Special attention to the Cloister that can be seen through a door.

Sergio Aguiar (5 months ago)
No idea when it opens ...

Nes Rotstein (3 years ago)
Great priest. Great Mass

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright jl.cernadas

Historic Site of the week

Roman Walls of Lugo

Roman Walls of Lugo are an exceptional architectural, archaeological and constructive legacy of Roman engineering, dating from the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. The Walls are built of internal and external stone facings of slate with some granite, with a core filling of a conglomerate of slate slabs and worked stone pieces from Roman buildings, interlocked with lime mortar.

Their total length of 2117 m in the shape of an oblong rectangle occupies an area of 1.68 ha. Their height varies between 8 and 10 m, with a width of 4.2 m, reaching 7 m in some specific points. The walls still contain 85 external towers, 10 gates (five of which are original and five that were opened in modern times), four staircases and two ramps providing access to the walkway along the top of the walls, one of which is internal and the other external. Each tower contained access stairs leading from the intervallum to the wall walk of town wall, of which a total of 21 have been discovered to date.

The defences of Lugo are the most complete and best preserved example of Roman military architecture in the Western Roman Empire.

Despite the renovation work carried out, the walls conserve their original layout and the construction features associated with their defensive purpose, with walls, battlements, towers, fortifications, both modern and original gates and stairways, and a moat.

Since they were built, the walls have defined the layout and growth of the city, which was declared a Historical-Artistic Ensemble in 1973, forming a part of it and becoming an emblematic structure that can be freely accessed to walk along. The local inhabitants and visitors alike have used them as an area for enjoyment and as a part of urban life for centuries.

The fortifications were added to UNESCO"s World Heritage List in late 2000 and are a popular tourist attraction.

Do you know an ancient castle or magnificent church near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory.com.

It's absolutely free, easy, and doesn't even need registration!

Upload data

San Pedro Chuch

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Rhodes, The Island of Knights

Great Spa Towns of Europe

History of Guernsey & Jersey

Historic Site of the week

Roman Walls of Lugo

Looks like you are a history fan!