Churches

NUESTRA SEÑORA DE AITZIBER

The hermitage of Our Lady of Aitziber, in Urdiain, Navarre, is the epicenter of local legends. It has a rectangular ground plan with a three-sided polygonal apse. It is built of rendered rubble masonry with ashlar quoins and is roofed with a wooden structure. Above the lintelled doorway there is a small bell gable bearing the inscription AITZIBER.
The titular image is kept in the parish church, where a copy can be seen here. It is a Gothic sculpture from the second quarter of the 14th century. Mary, dressed in a tunic and mantle, has beautiful features, and the veil and right hand were added at later dates. The Child, seated on the Virgin’s left knee, moves his legs to his right in a somewhat forced motion that nevertheless helps to close the composition. He blesses with his right hand, while in the other he holds a book.