The Camino Aragonés

Obanos is the real-life setting of a passion play that takes place here every even-numbered year at the end of July. It is a tragic tale of two saints.

The origins of the play are traced to the 14th century, when Santa Felicia, sister to the Duke of Aquitaine (San Guillén), left her home for a pilgrimage to Santiago.

The life suited her and when she arrived in Obanos she decided to devote herself to aiding pilgrims. Her brother set out on a mission of his own, that of bringing her back home with the lure of the comfortable lifestyle she had left behind. He was unable to do so, and in a fit of rage killed her.

Wracked with remorse, the young Duke decided to complete her pilgrimage in penitence. On his return journey, he holed up in the nearby hermitage of Arnotegui. He built a chapel there and continued the mission that his sister had begun.

The Iglesia de San Juan Bautista preserves the skull of Guillén.

The name of this town is rather romantically attributed to the benefactor of the bridge over the río Arga. It is a nice sentiment, but not an altogether accurate one. In fact, historians quibble over which 11th century Queen had it built. One thing is for certain, banditry continued to present a problem to the growing town, and in the 13th century a wall was built to protect it.

It was rectilinear in shape and was not much bigger than the current town, and little remains: 

1. Calle Cerco, ‘cerco’ being the word for wall. Of the 26 original towers most have become part of private homes, the best visible example is the stonework inside Hotel Cerco. 

2. The city gate which opens to the bridge. Of the original 4 doors, it is the only one that remains.