Aoiz/Agoitz

The earliest recorded habitation in the lands around Aoiz date to the Mesolithic period, after earlier peoples descended from the Pyrenes mountains to settle the Irati river valley. Early inhabitants of the lands lived in caves along the river bank, eventually forming communities and small villages on fortified hilltops. Local life was centered around pastoralism and small-scale crafts. The rugged countryside and river bluffs sheltered the population from outside threats, but the relative isolation of the river valley slowed the spread of commerce and exchange. Organized agriculture spread to Aoiz later than other parts of Navarre, arriving in the 1st century BCE.

During the era of Roman Rule over Spain (1st-4th Century AD), the lands near the future Aoiz remained less romanized than other neighboring regions of Navarre. By the 4th Century AD, agriculture was consolidated along Roman lines in the style of Latifundium and became more efficient, and numerous small villages were formed to service these large estates, including Aoiz. When the Roman Empire began to slip into decline, the area around Aoiz was on the periphery of imperial control but remained prosperous. While much of Hispania was invaded by the Vandals, Suevi, and Alans, the Irati river valley saw an entrenchment of the local Basque and proto-Navarro cultures, whose influence remained strong during Visigothic and Frankish incursions into Hispania in the 8th century and Muslim incursions in the 9th.

Kingdom of Navarre:

When the Kingdom of Navarre was founded in 824, the village of Aoiz lay between two strongholds of the kingdom, the capital of Pamplona and the fortified town of Sangüesa. Both vied for influence over Aoiz, until Sangüesa went into decline and Pamplona gained definitive influence over the kingdom. The village prospered for almost a century until 924, when an Umayyad army under the command of Abd al-Rahman III invaded the valley, devastating the region before marching north to sack Pamplona.

The region experienced a revival in the 9th and 10th centuries, as Carolingian influence spread in Navarre. Economic and social recovery led to the establishment of many small-scale monasteries, hermitages, and rural churches, including the monastery of San Salvador de Zalurribar, which became the first religious center in Aoiz. The town continued to grow in the 11th and 12th centuries, including the construction of the town's famous bridge and a Romanesque church. The kings of Navarre divided the kingdom into six districts (the Merindad system) for better defense and administration; under this system, Aoiz was grouped under the Merindad of Sangüesa.

Navarre entered a period of instability in the 13th century, as political divides and growing French, Aragonese, and Castilian influence destabilized the region. Aoiz stayed out of the War of the Two Pedros between Castile and Aragon by paying an exemption, but was involved in a disastrous Navarrese conflict against Castile in which the town was burned by Castilian troops, with only the town church's tower surviving. Despite the destruction of the town, the area was rebuilt during the subsequent decades; Aoiz was visited by Charles II of Navarre and his successor Charles III, both of whom granted special tax exemptions and privileges to the town in the 1380s. The latter Charles in particular was a benefactor of the town, declaring all Agoiskos free from serfage and labor obligations, and went as far as to have a local vintner provide wine for his court. The town benefitted from the relative peace and the economy was fueled by increases in the wine, cattle and grain trades. In addition to local Basques and Navarros, a small number of foreign merchants, mostly of Frankish descent, also lived in the town.

Aoiz, along with the entirety of the Irati river valley, was struck by several waves of bubonic plague in the late 14th century, leaving large swathes of countryside depopulated. The economy collapsed, forcing the crown to offer tax relief to the town’s surviving inhabitants. The administrative dimensions of Aoiz grew during this time, as the town was granted control over nearby settlements that had been abandoned, but the population of Aoiz did not recover until the 1430s. The town rebuilt, however; work began on a new stone church on the bluffs above the river, communal mills were established to grind grain, and the town center was fortified.

In the 1440s, Aoiz became one of many fronts in a succession crisis between John of Aragon and his son, Charles of Vianna, whose struggle for the Navarrese throne often turned violent. Both political leaders visited Aoiz (Charles in 1442 and John in 1450) and the town was split between their respective supporters. When the simmering conflict devolved into open hostility during the Navarrese Civil War (1451–1455), Aoiz was the sole town in the Irati river valley to side with John, while the rest of the valley sided with Charles. John triumphed over his son during the conflict, but fighting between the supporters of John (the "Agramonts") and supporters of Charles' heirs (the "Beaumonts") continued for decades. The fighting continued until the reign of Francis Phoebus, whose mother and regent Madeleine of Valois arranged for peace negotiations between the Agramonts and Beaumonts in 1479. Leaders of the factions gathered on the outskirts of Aoiz at a small hermitage and—in a gesture of peace—purportedly stuck their swords into the earth. In gratitude for the peace, the regent granted Aoiz the honorific of "Buena Villa" and a seat in the cortes of Navarre, in addition to a number of other royal privileges. In 1495, co-monarchs John and Catherine of Navarre granted Aoiz the right to display a coat of arms commemorating the peace accord, and as such the town adopted its present coat of arms - a gold crown on a red field above two downward facing swords.

Spanish Aoiz:

In 1512, Ferdinand II of Aragon invaded Navarre and expelled John and Catherine. The deposed monarchs fled to France and returned with a large army, but were unable to retake Pamplona before the winter set in. While retreating back to France, a potion of the Navarrese army was intercepted and routed in the fields around Aoiz in December 1512. Ferdinand of Aragon died in 1516 and his successor, Charles V, assumed the crowns of Castile, Aragon, and Navarre, thus forming the basis of a unified Spain. Charles kept the legal structure of the old kingdom of Navarre intact, and under the new union Aoiz maintained the majority of its rights and privileges.

Aoiz benefited from the stabilized political climate in the mid 16th century. The town maintained its right to sit in on the cortes of Navarre and sent delates to represent the interests of the community. The economy continued to grow, with forestry, metalworking, and crafts becoming more important. Expanded access to raw materials led to the formation of several guilds in the town, including a guild of shoemakers, tailors, and one of weavers (which eventually split into two guilds, one of linen weavers and a second for wool-workers, pelaires). Many residents of Aoiz also joined cofradías, religious organizations that often included members of the same trade and their families. The guilds gained significant political power in the town and many members became landowners.

Despite the importance and variety of its crafts, Aoiz remained a small town with a strong rural character. Rural peasants from the surrounding valleys brought their livestock and produce to Aoiz's market (permitted by royal decree to be held on the first Thursday of every month, and a fair during celebrations of San Miguel), and these goods supported the large artisan community. The medieval town center nevertheless likely never exceeded 500 people.

The new prosperity of Aoiz led to commensurate improvements in town life; many wealthier families in Aoiz built renaissance-style homes using polished ashlar stonework, and the t

Mercadillo semanal: Viernes · Plaza del Mercado

•Manuel Guírior, trigésimo segundo virrey del Virreinato del Perú

•Miguel José de Azanza, quincuagésimo cuarto virrey del Virreinato de Nueva España

•Soledad Villafranca, propagandista anarquista

•José Antonio Urbiola, político

•Miguel Machinandiarena, productor de cine argentino

•Francisco Ynduráin Hernández

•Antxon Jaso, futbolista español

•Mariano García Zalba, compositor español

Web oficial: http://www.aoiz.es