Logbook · 3 places

What to see and do in Izalzu/Itzaltzu

What to see and do in Izalzu/Itzaltzu (Pirineo, Navarra): 3 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 1 Curiosities

Towns near Izalzu/Itzaltzu

Spain › Chartered Community of Navarre › Pirineo › Izalzu/Itzaltzu

What to see and do in Izalzu/Itzaltzu

Izalzu/Itzaltzu
Village
Izalzu/Itzaltzu, in the Salazar valley at 803 m altitude, has its origin in 1037, when Blasco Asnari donated to the monastery of Leyre a monastery of his own, around which the village grew; its inhabitants were tributaries of the monks until it was established as an independent municipality in the 16th century. It has 36 inhabitants (INE 2025) and lives from sheep grazing and the sustainable forestry of its pine woods.
Iglesia de la Asunción, Izalzu
Monument
A 16th-century Gothic stone church, next to the hermitage of San José, a possible site of the medieval monastery that gave rise to the village.
La leyenda de Gartxot, el bardo de Itzaltzu
Curiosity
Izalzu preserves the legend of Gartxot, a medieval Basque minstrel who, according to tradition, was walled up alive for having committed a horrendous crime. The writer Arturo Campión retold the story in his work "El bardo de Itzaltzu" ("The Bard of Itzaltzu"), which became a plea in defense of the Basque language and culture.