Altarpiece of San Miguel de Aralar

The altarpiece of San Miguel in Excelsis is a fundamental work of Romanesque art. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful and exceptional sets of medieval enamels. For any visitor it is a pleasant surprise to find such a unique and extraordinary piece at the top of the mountain range.

Like the great pieces of art history, it has everything: formal beauty, discussion historiography and chronicle of events. It should be remembered that on the night of 25-26 October 1979 all the plaques depicted were stolen. Fortunately, internship all the pieces were recovered after 1981, and it is now possible to contemplate it practically in its entirety. Hence the current security systems.

It is almost two metres long and 122 centimetres high. In the centre, the Virgin and Child preside over the ensemble, in a mandorla, within a lobed border of cabochons. In the spandrels is the Tetramorphos. On either side of the Virgin and Child are twelve figures in two registers of semicircular arches. In the upper register we see the Apostles. The lower one is more complex and controversial. On the right are the three Magi with their gifts; on the left, an angel, identified as either Saint Michael or the archangel Gabriel, followed by Mary and, lastly, a male figure, recognised as either Saint Joseph or Isaiah/David. In the upper part there is an accumulation of decorative elements: in the centre, four more apostles, with rock-crystal cabochons; on the sides, nine half-spheres on each side (two are missing on the left), decorated with fantastic animals and interlacing.