Points of Interest 
Heritage Seventeenth century
Seventeenth century
After the artistic ebullience of the last century, the 17th century developed calmly. The nobility, enriched through public offices, took advantage to modify or build new palaces.
The majority were built outside the walls, in neighbourhoods, joined to the main communication roads of the towns. In general, they were quite restrained and austere and their principal characteristics were the heraldic motifs that decorated the façades, their artistic eaves and the rich wrought iron work that they presented in windows and balconies.
Arrasate offers the opportunity to appreciate two good examples of this type of construction with the Palace of Monterrón and the Palace of Okendo.
Right in the centre of the town of Leintz Gatzaga we find the Garro Palace with an impressive coat of arms in the corner.
In Bergara, besides the City Hall, we can see two other exponents of the baroque style in the Parish of San Pedro: the "Cristo de la AgonÃa" by Juan de Mesa and the painting of the "Adoración de los pastores" of the Neapolitan school.
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The most important families continued building large palaces to house their residences.
The Palace of Monterrón is located at the beginning of the Zarugalde neighbourhood. The baroque Herrera style was transformed in a clearly square structure with scant decoration. The balconies of wrought iron and the two coats of arms on the main façade of the families Andikano-Zelaa and Aranguren Unzueta stand out.
This building is emblematic not only for its size but also because it was the place of lodging of famous persons that visited the town such as Felipe V and the Queen Maria Cristina.
In another of the neighbourhoods, in that of the Magdalena, is located the imposing Okendo Palace. It stands out above all for its large baroque coat of arms of the Barrutia family that projects from the dressed stone work façade.
The city hall, designed by the architect from Guipuzkoa, Lucas de Longa, at the end of the 17th cent., is the most significant architectonic work. It follows the typical structures of the Guipuzkoan city halls with lower arcade, principal floor with running balcony for the institutional acts and coats of arms on the façade.
The Parish of San Pedro, in the centre of town, houses a striking sculpture of the Seville baroque school. Juan de Mesa created the "Cristo de la AgonÃa", commissioned by the resident of Bergara, Juan Pérez de Irazabal in 1622. The treatment of the body, the expression of the face and the loincloth are masterly; they follow the expressionist tradition that was characteristic of that era.
On the right side wall we find the canvas of "La adoración de los pastores". The treatment of the light is interesting. This is gradually distributed with the effect of chiaoscuro, from the principal figure of Jesus towards the other characters.
During the 17th century, the town centre developed gradually. Leintz Gatzaga acquired importance and the passing of famous personalities, such as Felipe III or Juan of Austria, made possible improvement in the Camino Real that crosses the town.
The baroque style that we can see materialized in Leintz Gatzaga with different buildings but most of them correspond to the 18th century. The Garro Palace is one of the few constructions of the 17th century. It is located between the streets Santiago and San Ignacio, just in front of the Parish of San Millán. Its structure is simple, square, but the wooden eaves with carved abutments stand out. On the façades large balconies open with excellent grillwork.
The large coat of arms in the corner, worked between the first and second floor. It corresponds to the Garro family and in it we can see the arms of its lineage: a fleur-de-lis cross with a walking wolf. We are observing a new trend in the buildings of this era since it breaks with the traditional frontal decoration.
