Palace of kings of Navarre
It is also known as the
Palace of Dukes of Granada de Ega. Since the 18th century, it is the best example of
Navarre’s civil Romanic.It is a wonderful building built from the second half of the
12th century. Its main façade is divided in two parts with good ashlars.The lower body, at the street’s level, is opened by four wide archs framed by columns attached to the wall and with vegetal and historiated decorations in the capitals.On the left side, the capital has some stylized figures that show us
the fight against the paladin Carlomagno, Roldan and the giant Ferragut. The letters in the abacus identify the characters,
“Pheragut”, “Rollan”, “Martinus me fecit”, “de Logroño”, being Martinus the artist who created it.The second floor is opened by a gallery which creates a graceful rhythm of openings. Also it is flanked by semi-columns. The capital which is on the right has figurative decoration, which scenes are related to the sins like pride, avarice and lust, using elements of the oriental tales. The whole ensemble culminates towards
San Martin’s square with a third floor, formed by a brick’s gallery, with an arcade of double archs, built in the 18th century. From the 19th century till 1951 it was the prison of the “Partido Judicial of Estella”.
Since 1991 it is a museum that houses the pictorial legacy of
Gustavo’s de Maeztu (1887-1947).