Qualla: Palace of the Kings of Navarre of Olite https://qualla.com/palace-of-the-kings-of-navarre-of-olite en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:18 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/e/z/w/c/palace-of-the-kings-of-navarre-of-olite-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Palace of the Kings of Navarre of Olite https://qualla.com/palace-of-the-kings-of-navarre-of-olite Palace of the Kings of Navarre of Olite: Introduction https://qualla.com/palace-of-the-kings-of-navarre-of-olite/ Photo credit Florent Pécassou, CC BY-SA 4.0. The kings of Navarre kept a giraffe. Also African buffalos, a camel, a lion gifted by the King of Aragon, parrots, hawks, and hunting dogs. They kept them in a moat at the foot of the Cistern Tower, a pit the locals called "the liony." Above the menagerie, hanging gardens grew twenty meters in the air, watered through lead pipes engineered by Juan D'Espernou in 1409. The Royal Palace of Olite was not a fortress pretending to be a palace. It was a palace barely pretending to be a fortress.

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Image: Florent Pécassou | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/z/w/c/palace-of-the-kings-of-navarre-of-olite-wp/ezwc-palace-of-the-kings-of-navarre-of-olite-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Palace of the Kings of Navarre of Olite: A Queen's Displeasure https://qualla.com/palace-of-the-kings-of-navarre-of-olite/ Photo credit Victornavarra, CC BY-SA 4.0. The palace began as a thirteenth-century castle built atop ancient Roman foundations during the reign of Sancho VII "the Strong." For generations, the Navarrese court was itinerant, and the kings visited Olite intermittently. Everything changed when Charles III "the Noble" marrie...

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Image: Victornavarra | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/z/w/c/palace-of-the-kings-of-navarre-of-olite-wp/ezwc-palace-of-the-kings-of-navarre-of-olite-a-queens-displeasure.mp3 0:06 2 full Palace of the Kings of Navarre of Olite: Gardens in the Sky https://qualla.com/palace-of-the-kings-of-navarre-of-olite/ Photo credit JnCrlsMG, CC BY-SA 4.0. The New Palace was a sensory extravagance. Its interiors were decorated with plasterwork by Morisco masters, azulejo tiles, stained glass, and gilded coffered ceilings. Floors and walls were hung with tapestries. Artists of French, Spanish, and Islamic traditions worked side by s...

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Image: JnCrlsMG | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/z/w/c/palace-of-the-kings-of-navarre-of-olite-wp/ezwc-palace-of-the-kings-of-navarre-of-olite-gardens-in-the-sky.mp3 0:06 3 full Palace of the Kings of Navarre of Olite: Towers and Watchmen https://qualla.com/palace-of-the-kings-of-navarre-of-olite/ Photo credit Isabel vilchez, CC BY-SA 3.0. The palace bristles with towers, each with its own character. The Torre del Homenaje rises 40 meters, the highest point, with a spiral staircase of 133 steps -- its name, Torre de la Vit, comes from the French word for snail. The Torre de la Atalaya, also called the Joyosa Guarda...

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Image: Isabel vilchez | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/z/w/c/palace-of-the-kings-of-navarre-of-olite-wp/ezwc-palace-of-the-kings-of-navarre-of-olite-towers-and-watchmen.mp3 0:06 4 full Palace of the Kings of Navarre of Olite: Fire and Resurrection https://qualla.com/palace-of-the-kings-of-navarre-of-olite/ Photo credit pere prlpz, CC BY-SA 3.0. When Castile annexed Navarre in 1512, the palace began its long decline. Centuries of neglect followed, and by the time the poet Gustavo Adolfo Becquer visited in the late nineteenth century, the castle was a romantic ruin of bare rooms and crumbling walls. The worst blow came in...

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]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/z/w/c/palace-of-the-kings-of-navarre-of-olite-wp/ezwc-palace-of-the-kings-of-navarre-of-olite-fire-and-resurrection.mp3 0:06 5 full Palace of the Kings of Navarre of Olite: Jousts and Pelota https://qualla.com/palace-of-the-kings-of-navarre-of-olite/ Photo credit Jialxv, CC BY-SA 4.0. Daily life at Olite was anything but austere. Jousting tournaments were held in 1439 for the wedding of the Prince of Viana and German princess Agnes of Cleves. Charles II "the Bad" organized a bullfight in 1387 featuring three Muslim toreros. Basque pelota was played regularly; ...

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]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/z/w/c/palace-of-the-kings-of-navarre-of-olite-wp/ezwc-palace-of-the-kings-of-navarre-of-olite-jousts-and-pelota.mp3 0:06 6 full