The Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de la Oliva is one of the best examples of the Cistercian style. The entire architecture responds to the Cistercian ideal of austerity and serenity. The ogival church with three naves and a transept from the end of the 12th century, is virtually void of ornamentation, excepting three simple plant motifs on the capitals. The impression of depth is due to its great length, 75 metres, and the purity of its lines. On its façade it has an elegant portico and two rose windows. It was remodelled in the 14th century. The cloister is of a much later and lighter gothic style (14th and 15th centuries), contrasting with the rigour of a 13th century chapter room, whose vaults are supported by four romantic capitals. Another outstanding feature of its architecture is the large novices' room or library and the 14th century entrance façade.
Situated in mid-eastern Navarra, on a small hill that rises up along the banks of the river Cidacos.
The Royal Palace of Olite is a dream castle, with an interior of glazed tiles, sculptured and painted ceilings, hanging gardens on high walls and towers, each with its own name: Torre de las Atalayas, Torre de los Cuatro Vientos, Torre de las Cigueñas, etc. In 1813 the Spanish General Espoz y Mina set light to the castle to avoid it being occupied by the French forces. Little by little the restoration of this beautiful monument has been carried out to return it to its original glory. Its exuberant and cleverly disordered architecture is completed by two churches: the old royal chapel, Santa María la Real, gothic in style and with a sculptured façade from the 14th century, with scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary, and the Church of San Pedro, in a Romanesque-gothic transition style, with a very fine gothic spire and an older Romanesque cloister.
Situated in mid-eastern Navarra, this is a typical fort-village with a mediaeval historical ensemble of great interest. This is a very old village, and its Church of Santa María, inside an especially well restored monastery, was built in the 11th century. Its nave, rebuilt in the 14th century, is gothic and the apse is Romanesque.
The economic centre of nearby Olite, Tafalla is situated on the shores of the river Cidacos in the midst of a large stretch of agricultural land and cereal fields and vineyards. This locality marks the start of the Navarrese floor plain, close to the last Pyrenean foothills.
From the 12th to the 14th centuries, Tafalla experienced a period of expansion that was cut short by the Black Death. To alleviate the effects of this crisis, King Carlos III declared it a free town and raised the status of all its inhabitants to free citizens. At around this time a royal palace was built, a copy of the palace of Olite, the remains of which disappeared at the end of the last century. In the centre of the village the old quarter with its mediaeval arrangement can still be clearly discerned, situated in the higher area between the two main churches and the later extensions. The Plaza Nueva (new square), built between 1856 and 1859, acts as the town's commercial and administrative centre. The churches of Santa María and San Pedro can also be visited. The former is notable for its main altarpiece and tabernacle, both being the work of Juan de Antxieta, the choir seating, which dates from 1760 and the miraculous and unfinished image of San Sebastián, patron saint of the town, made from polychrome worked stone in the 15th century, whilst the latter is notable due to it being the oldest church in Tafalla, built in 1157.
