Portugalete and Muzkiz

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Church and feudal tower

Way of St. James in the Basque Country : Portugalete and Muskiz

08/15/2006

Portugalete, at the mouth of the estuary, is another obvious example of a Middle Age city, with its layout of ordered streets, walls, church and feudal tower.

This town was created by Doña María Díaz de Haro, the Good, widow of Prince John, who was murdered by Don Tello, and was granted the fuero de Logroño in 1322. Its old part has been declared an Historic-Artistic monument.

It has a remarkable church, called Santa María, which is Gothic in style with three naves and a vault supported by strong columns. A primitive construction, dating from the 14th century, not much is left of the original since it was rebuilt in the 15th and 16th centuries. It has a small triforium in keeping with typical pilgrim’s churches. Although Renaissance in general, its altarpiece is outstanding for its 14th century Andra Mari, by the master Guiot de Beaugrant. It also has a small altar dedicated to Saint James the Moor Slayer at Clavijo.

Not far from here, defending one of the entrances to the town, above the ancient port, is Salazar Tower. The Salazar family was an important lineage from the Encartaciones region, whose influence spread through the Mena Valley to the Jurisdiction of Castile. Its most famous member is the first chronicler of Biscay, Don Lope García de Salazar, who left us a precious historic document, a real social and political chronicle, and a mirror of noble life in the late Middle Ages with his work: “Biendazas y Fortunas”. This tower was the setting for Don Lope’s “adventures”, such as his escape from the hands of his own sons who had taken him prisoner; on leaving the tower he took refuge in the belfry of Santa María, until he was recaptured.

Portugalete is explicitly and directly documented by a pilgrim. The person in question is the Armenian Martyr Bishop, de Arzendjan, who made the return journey along the coastal route in 1494; settling in “the great city of Portugalete” on his way back.

We continue on towards Muskiz, home to the Muñatones Castle, cradle and ancestral home of the Salazar lineage, and perhaps the most outstanding of all Bizkaian fortresses. This castle had a nearby palace and hermitage, dedicated to San Martín; these buildings were declared an Historic-Artistic Monument in 1944.

In prison, and after two escape attempts, Don Lope states: “...here, in my birthplace of San Martín, a prisoner of those I engendered and raised, fearing a poisoned drink and that the unorganised covetousness for taking my belongings will prevent them from setting me free, I await the mercy of God and rid myself of thought and imagination by writing this book”. He was poisoned as feared at the age of seventy.

We continue along the coast towards Finisterre, through Cantabrian lands.

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