The Chapel of the Virgin of the Way

The Baroque chapel of the Virgen del Camino is the most eloquent testament to the heights that devotion to this image reached in Pamplona. Originally placed on the beam of the high altar where she had appeared, the growing devotion led to the statue being moved to the Chapel of the Santo Cristo, at the foot of the church. However, the proliferation of gifts in the form of jewelry and mantles in the early 17th century compelled the parish council to build a chapel capable of accommodating both the worship of the Virgin and her growing collection of vestments. 

Thus, following an initial attempt in 1644, the current chapel was built between 1758 and 1776 on the site of the garden and the medieval cloister, which had been demolished. The resulting building closely followed—albeit on a larger and more complex scale—the “ model ” style of the San Fermín Chapel, inaugurated in 1717 in the nearby parish church of San Lorenzo. Thus, the chapel features a Greek cross plan inscribed within a square, with a passageway connecting it to the main church and corner chapels. Behind the apse is the shrine, which is accessed through doors in the apse chapels. The arms of the “ Wayside Cross ” are covered with barrel vaults with lunettes. The chapel has five domes: the central one rests on an octagonal drum and pendentives, topped with an orange “ average ” and a lantern, and four side domes that follow the same “ outline ” but without a drum. 

In elevation, the walls are punctuated by pilasters with Corinthian or composite capitals, surmounted by a wide entablature that is highly articulated at the corners. This is complemented by intricate geometric decoration featuring moldings on the vaults and stucco reliefs created by the Ontañón family on the pendentives, depicting Saint Saturninus, Saint Fermin, Saint Honestus, and Saint Francis Xavier. In the wings of the “ Wayside Cross ,” there are large galleries with latticework, beneath which hang two canvases depicting the Nativity and the Adoration of the Magi, both by the painter José Bejés. 

A highlight of the chapel is the altarpiece housing the image of the Virgin, designed by Pamplona architect Juan Martín de Andrés and built between 1767 and 1773. It is a semicircular “cascaron” altarpiece that fits into the apse of the main chapel, covering it entirely. In terms of its iconography, the altarpiece is presented as a golden tableau designed to exalt the Virgin, surrounded by her relatives and the virtues in which she excelled. Thus, the central panel features the image of the Virgin of the Way, her husband Saint Joseph with the Child, and the Eternal Father within a halo of glory adorned with rays, cherubs, and angelic musicians holding sheet music or string and wind instruments. Andrés’s design included the dove of the Holy Spirit above the Virgin’s niche, alluding to the mystery of the Incarnation. In the side aisles, we find the Virgin’s parents: Saint Joachim and Saint Anne. Opposite the end pilasters and columns, we can see the Cardinal Virtues: Fortitude, Prudence, Justice, and Temperance. On the bench are small Neapolitan sculptures donated in 1772 by Agustín de Leiza y Eraso, depicting the Immaculate Conception and Saint Teresa of Jesus.

Another notable feature of the chapel is the niche. Located behind the main altarpiece and at the same level as the church floor, it is the true sacred space housing the image—the Virgin’s home and dressing room. With a central floor plan, it is covered by a lowered elliptical vault. It preserves much of its Rococo decoration in the paintings alluding to the Litany of Loreto, the baseboard imitating jasper, and the elements hanging from the walls: mirrors and cornucopias. It features a window designed to provide light to the transparent panel that originally closed off the Virgin’s niche from behind.