Roncesvalles is a medieval enclave in the former Kingdom of Navarre. It is a quarter of an hour from Casa Rural Arce Pirineo, located about 4 kilometers from the French border in a straight line, or 21 kilometers by road. The waters of the Urrobi River irrigate its lands at an altitude of about 900 meters in the Pyrenees.
The church of the Real Colegiata de Roncesvalles was built by order of King Sancho VII in the French Gothic style, with a clear influence from the Parisian Cathedral of Notre Dame. Its main function was to be the church of the hospital institution of Roncesvalles. The main purpose of the institution was to care for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago after crossing the Pyrenees. Among others, the cloister, the chapel of San Agustín, the Chapel of Santiago, and its polychromatic crypt, which still preserves the original paintings, are noteworthy. Many of its walls and vaults are decorated with murals from the 13th century. Architecturally, the crypt consists of a straight section of a barrel vault and a pentagonal apse.
Roncesvalles has a museum that can only be accessed with a guide after paying the general visit to the Roncesvalles complex. It is a room that exhibits an interesting pictorial collection, including a unique satire of the emperor, Triptych of Calvary from the school of El Bosco, and the Holy Family of San Juanito by Luis de Morales. The goldsmithing section is impressive, displayed in six showcases. Highlights include Charlemagne’s chess set, a Renaissance gold-plated silver casket, the wooden statue of the Virgin with the Child covered in silver, the reliquary known as Charlemagne’s Chess (mid-14th century), with the Montpellier punch, the emerald called Miramamolín (trophy won by Sancho el Fuerte in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa). Some paintings, books, and sculptures are also exhibited.