The panorama which unfolds before our eyes is amazing. To the southwest, the Moncayo draws the horizon with its elongated silhouette; on the opposite side, the  Aragón gorges show the medieval defences of Gallipienzo. Behind these, the Arangoiti, with Leire in its first foothills. On the north side, the parade ground connects the sanctuary with the Castillazo de Ujué, which defended the northern end of the platform, and served as a military garrison. Today we can only imagine its silhouette. The water reservoir, formerly a cemetery, marks the location where it was constructed. And to the south, untamed and solitary, with its ochre and green colours, the municipality of Ujué unfolds in a constellation of hills and terraces, whose hard-fought agricultural use justifies the existence of the town itself

But not its origin. To understand its original genesis we have to look towards the Moncayo, the Tafalla-Olite plain and the Bardena. And to go back in time to the middle years of the ninth century. The chronicler Al-Himyari starts with one of the first accounts to complete the following picture: “another town named Santa Maria, is the first of the fortresses which are part of the defense system of Pamplona. It is the most solidly built and occupies the highest position. It is built on a height overlooking the Aragon River, at a distance of three miles from this river”. There is no room for doubt. The place which describes, that toponym of Santa Maria will be with the passing of the years Uxue-Ujué. But perhaps, the most interesting thing is that the chronicle demonstrates that on the mountain platform already then fortress and sanctuary coexisted. And that devout and rocky place was so sacred that the Islamic sources place the Virgin as the sole and stellar protagonist of the toponym. From the highest point of the compound, it’s time to return to the starting point.

It’s time to go down. We meet again in front of the south facade. Once we get there press number 19.