Páganos: Culture, Festivals and Dolmen Route

Culture

The Church of the Assumption in Páganos dates from the 16th century and features a Renaissance portal. Páganos originated as a settlement in the 11th century, around 1076. The Casona de Juan Ortiz de Zárate is made of reddish stone. At the Casona de Juan de Ortiz de Zárate, a coat of arms bears the inscription “El mundo es ansí”. This inscription provided the title for a novel by Baroja. Juan Ortiz de Zárate was secretary of the Inquisition in Zaragoza, later an inquisitor in Cartagena (Peru) and bishop of Salamanca. The Renaissance portal belongs to the Church of the Assumption, while the coat of arms with its literary inscription is located at the Casona. The biography of Juan Ortiz de Zárate leads from Zaragoza via Cartagena in Peru to Salamanca and connects several historical place names through one person.

History

The former hermitage of San Clemente was a co-patron saint of Páganos; its image is kept in the parish church of Páganos. The Santiago hermitage is located at the eastern entrance to Páganos. After Navaridas separated from Laguardia, the region’s hidalgos held their assemblies in the Santiago church. Today, the Santiago hermitage has been deconsecrated and is owned by one of the local wineries. San Clemente and Santiago thus represent different historical traces in Páganos: here, the parish church preserves the image of the former co-patron saint, while there, its location at the eastern entrance to the town recalls the Santiago hermitage. Navaridas’s separation from Laguardia provides the historical context for the hidalgos’ assemblies in this church. Its present-day deconsecration and ownership by one of the wineries form part of the hermitage’s current history.

Festivals

For festival planning, Saint Blaise’s Day is tied to the Sunday closest to 3 February. The San Blas festival in Páganos includes the Chulalai dance and the kissing of the saint’s relic. During the San Blas festival, loaves called “cachetes”, as well as roscos and puff pastries, are brought to be blessed. The feast of Saint Clement in Páganos is associated with 23 November. The date of the San Blas festival is therefore determined by the nearest Sunday and not solely by a fixed calendar date. The dance, relic and blessed pastries all belong to the same festival in Páganos. The Feast of Saint Clement, on 23 November, provides another notable date in the local annual calendar.

Activities

The “Ruta de los Dólmenes de Rioja Alavesa” passes through Páganos and is an unmarked circular route. Its length of 53.22 kilometres and the eight dolmens it includes are relevant when planning the route. The San Martín Dolmen can be reached via a 400-metre detour before Páganos. From the A124, it is approximately 300 metres in the direction of Laguardia. Anyone planning the entire circular route should therefore allow for a distance of 53.22 kilometres and a total of eight dolmens. The San Martín Dolmen is connected via its own 400-metre detour before Páganos.

Other Places

Other linked places are: Guinea, Zambrana, Elciego, El Campillar, Maturana, Ibarguren, Bujanda, Añes.

To the main travel overview: Alava.