Practical information
The Oñati Tourist Office organizes guided tours to discover the town center and history of Oñati. Starting at the Sancti Spiritus University and the Church of San Miguel, the tour offers the chance to see the town's most significant streets and palaces. The tour ends at the Bidaurreta Monastery.
Information and guided tours, OÑATI TOURIST OFFICE (943 783 453 / turismo@onati.eus).
It is a Gothic-Renaissance building, built between 1510 and 1520 and founded by Juan López de Lazarraga, Secretary of the Royal Council and Accountant of the Catholic Monarchs. Being a cloistered convent for the Poor Clares (Franciscan Order), the vow of poverty is reflected in the sobriety of the building.
It has been listed as a historic-artistic monument since 1980. The church’s altarpiece, also dating from the 18th-century Rococo period, is likewise listed as a monument.
The church is worth mentioning. It is Isabelline Gothic in style and large in size and has a Latin Cross plan in just one nave. It was built by the architect Juan de Ruesga, who also worked on Palencia’s Cathedral. The characteristic features of the outer decoration are the balls (typical Castilian motif) and the coats of arms of the kings, the major order and the founders.
The altarpieces
Two altarpieces draw our attention in this temple.
The main one is carved in wood and has no gilding; it is Rococo Baroque style (1753), exuberant and original. The central part occupied entirely by a tableau with the shape of an enclosed balcony stands out above all, constituted by a beautiful sculptural group, which represents the coronation of the Virgin by the Holy Trinity. The rest of the sculptures, some of them representing Saints of the Order, are distributed in squares that form three levels. The altarpiece organized in squares that nowadays is placed next to the founder’s tomb is Plateresque in style (1533). Chronologically, it is the first Renaissance altarpiece in Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa and it is also one of the pieces that are the most valuable artistically. It dedicates the first section to the New Testament and the second to the Old Testament.
The tomb
In the church, we will find a quite simple tomb of the founders as well as 218 graves belonging to families from Oñati.
The plan of Seville Cathedral in Bidaurreta
It is noteworthy that the oldest complete plan of Seville Cathedral (16th century) was found in this convent in 2008.
