The main altarpiece and the side altarpieces

We know nothing about the original main altarpiece that the parish church of San Saturnino may have had in medieval times. According to Don Juan Albizu, by the end of the 14th century, the main chapel must have been presided over by a small, ornate alabaster altarpiece, funded in part by the town’s prominent citizen Martín Cruzat “El Rico,” which was replaced in 1503. During the Baroque period, the church’s chapels were furnished with various altarpieces. For example, in 1686 the main altarpiece was built, replacing one from 1630, and in 1706, Fermín de Larráinzar created the side altarpieces dedicated to Saint Andrew and Saint Lucy.   

In any case, the collection of historicist altarpieces currently on display in the church is the result of the stylistic restoration carried out in the parish in the early 20th century, which was in line with other interventions carried out in the capital’s churches during the pontificate of Fray José López Mendoza (1900–1923). In addition to the splendid new Neo-Gothic pulpits (1908), internship all of these altarpieces were crafted by the Istúriz workshop in Pamplona: the side altars of the Souls (1902), St. Anthony (1905), and the Sacred Heart (circa 1906), the main altarpiece (1907), and the side altars of the Trinity and the Immaculate Conception (1916). Some of them incorporate images from earlier altarpieces, such as the figure of Saint George from the 16th-century Sacred Heart altarpiece, or the Hispano-Flemish relief of the Pietà from the Holy Christ altarpiece, created by the Artieda and Arrieta workshop in 1917–1918.

The imposing main altarpiece undoubtedly stands out among all these elements; it is the masterpiece of the Istúriz workshop and one of the most outstanding of its kind in Navarre. Its construction involved both the aforementioned Pamplona-based workshop of Istúriz—which served as the position r for the intricate gilded woodwork and the apostles on the pew—and M. Morell and M. Teys of Barcelona, who sculpted the monumental reliefs and sculptures on the altarpiece, with the exception of the Baroque patron saint figure. 

Thus, in plan view, the altarpiece has an octagonal layout, adapted to the church’s apse, with which it also interacts in height, as its elevation allows for a view of the three Gothic windows rediscovered after the removal of the 1686 altarpiece and fitted with stained-glass panels created in 1907 by the Duclux firm, depicting the life of Saint Saturninus. The altarpiece is built upon a stone base with niches on either side designed to hold the credences. Above it rises the bench, consisting of twelve pointed-arch openings and gables that house an equal number of images of the apostles. In the center is the tabernacle for the Blessed Sacrament, originally a “ Exempt ” (a small altar for the Blessed Sacrament), which is unfortunately now damaged and built into the altarpiece. Above the bench stands the single section of the altarpiece, divided into three panels: the side panels feature reliefs depicting the Marriage of the Virgin and the “ presentation ” of the Child, respectively, while the central panel features the image of the patron saint. In the corners, beneath slender spires crowned with pinnacles, are carvings of Saint John the Baptist (who baptized Saint Saturninus), Saint Honestus (a disciple of Saint Saturninus), Saint Fermin (baptized by Saint Saturninus), and Saint James the Greater (whose image is appropriate for a parish located on the Way of Saint James).