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Sangüesa
«Sangüesa guarda la magnífica portada románica de Santa María.»Sangüesa guards the magnificent Romanesque portal of Santa María.
Sangüesa stands on the banks of the Aragón river, in eastern Navarre, near the border with Aragon. It was moved next to the bridge in 1122 to serve pilgrims, and its Santa María la Real church has one of the richest sculpted portals in all of Spanish Romanesque art.
Did you know
A portal among Europe's masterpieces.
The portal of the Santa María la Real church is considered one of the absolute masterpieces of European Romanesque sculpture.
How they talk in Sangüesa
«Zangoza» is the Basque name for the city. «Peregrino» and «camino» are ordinary words due to its position on the Jacobean route.
auzolan
Community or neighborhood work done together. Basque term for a practical collaboration in which the inhabitants contribute to the good of the neighborhood or the town.
Everyday life in Sangüesa
The façade of Santa María
The Romanesque portal is covered with dozens of sculpted figures, from kings to beasts, and it stands on a busy street: people stop in front of it looking up, and it is free.
«Mira cuántas figuras hay en la puerta.» — Look at how many figures there are on the portal.
The Aragón under the bridge
The river flows next to the town and the houses overlook it: flooding is an old fear, and the walls bear plaques with the level reached by the water.
Javier eight kilometres away
The castle where Francis Xavier was born is a pilgrimage destination in March: tens of thousands of Navarrese go there on foot, and many start right from here.
«Mucha gente va andando hasta Javier.» — Many people walk all the way to Javier.
What to eat in Sangüesa
Menestra navarra
Garden vegetables stewed one by one and then combined, with ham and egg.
Pochas
Fresh white beans cooked with little else: vegetables, quail or clams.
Chistorra
Thin sausage with paprika, roasted and served in bread.
Festivals in Sangüesa
Fiestas de San Sebastián
from 11 to 17 September
The «toros de fuego» run at night among the people, and the giants pass in front of the Romanesque portal of Santa María.
What to see in Sangüesa
Iglesia de Santa María la Real
The portal is covered with figures from bottom to top: saints, monsters, trades and hell.
Iglesia de Santiago
Romanesque and Gothic church, with the statue of Saint James found walled inside a pillar.
Palacio del Príncipe de Viana
The palace of the kings of Navarre, now the town hall, with two towers on the river.
Castillo de Javier
The castle where Francis Xavier was born in 1506, seven kilometres from the town.
Where Sangüesa comes from
A portal that is a book of stone
Roman era
The ford
A settlement where the road crosses the Aragón.
1122
The fuero
Alfonso I grants it the fuero and moves it next to the bridge, for the Way.
12th century
Santa María la Real
The portal is sculpted, one of the richest in Spanish Romanesque.
16th century
The Príncipe de Viana
The palace of the kings of Navarre becomes the seat of the city.
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