Church of El Salvador

The Church of El Salvador is Azagra’s main church and one of the great surprises of Gothic-Renaissance architecture in La Ribera. Begun around 1530 and opened for worship in 1577, its very slender single-nave plan, with unusual proportions, is covered by complex star-shaped vaults, especially notable in the crossing. The brickwork, characteristic of the area, is completed by historic doorways and an 18th-century Baroque portico on the Epistle side; the current tower reproduces the sober character of the ensemble in brick. In the presbytery, the Baroque main altarpiece, around 1700 and attributed to the San Juan Velasco workshop, stands out: a single body with three vertical sections over a high base, Solomonic columns, exuberant plant carving and abundant angels, crowned by an attic with Calvary. The imagery, with the figure of the Saviour in the central section, underlines the quality of a group counted among the richest in the Merindad of Estella. The church also preserves several side altarpieces, including San Francisco Javier and San Gregorio Ostiense, forming a coherent 17th- and 18th-century heritage ensemble. Today the church structures local liturgical life and maintains conservation projects, such as work on the tower, to pass the building on in good condition to future generations.