Errea

At an altitude of almost eight hundred metres, Errea nestles against the hillside as if seeking shelter in the mountain. From the left bank of the Arga, the hamlet gazes out over the valley with an ancient stillness. The Church of the Rosary, standing firm on its stone foundations, embodies the place’s mineral gravitas, whilst the names of long-abandoned settlements (Zuarraga and Sairas) survive in the whisper of the wind. Here, time does not move forward: it pauses. And in that pause coexist the memory of the councillors who governed in turn and the rural stone that still supports the walls of the present.

Errea general information

Errea is part of the Esteribar Valley and lies at an altitude of 793 metres. Surrounded by Ilárraz, Osteriz and Ardaiz, the village is historically organised around five manors that took turns governing the area. Here, the imprint of the ancient manors and the now-deserted settlements that shaped these mountains remains. Its municipal area, part of the Auñamendi region, is a territory where history blends with the landscape.

What to see in Errea?

Exploring Errea is to delve into a landscape where faith and stone converse with the past.

• Church of Our Lady of the Rosary: This rural-style building dominates the village centre from its bell tower, which features two openings for the bells. Its 16th-century ashlar structure houses a Romanesque-style high altarpiece inspired by the works of Anchieta, where the reliefs of the Flagellation and the Arrest reflect the artistic sensibility of the period.
• Sculptures and gold and silverwork: The interior of the church houses a polychrome wooden Virgin and Child, a Gothic piece from the first half of the 15th century that remains in an upright position. There is also a late Renaissance-style silver processional cross, dating from around 1600 and linked to the workshops of Pamplona.
• Civil architecture and cemetery: The hamlet is compactly arranged around the church, retaining the character of the valley’s stone buildings. The local cemetery currently occupies the site of the former chapel of San Pedro Mártir, reflecting the continuity of sacred memory within the landscape.
• Natural surroundings and abandoned settlements: The terrain of the parish bears traces of the ancient settlements of Zuarraga and Sairas, now abandoned, which indicate the former human occupation of these slopes overlooking the River Arga.