Andra Mari Church of Uribarri
Hidden in the quiet residential neighbourhood of Uribarri on the northern edge of Durango, the small Romanesque church of Andra Mari is one of the oldest buildings in the Duranguesado valley and almost entirely overlooked by visitors. Its 12th-century apse and carved corbels are a direct line back to medieval rural Basque life.
The Architecture Up Close
The church dates from the 12th century and retains its original semicircular Romanesque apse — a rarity in a region where most medieval churches were rebuilt in Gothic or baroque styles. The exterior corbels under the roofline are carved with human faces, animals and abstract patterns that scholars still debate in terms of their symbolic meaning.
The building is small and unassuming from the outside, which is precisely why it is so easy to walk past. Pause to examine the south portal: the archivolts retain traces of their original polychrome paint if you look closely in good light.
The Neighbourhood Around It
Uribarri itself is a calm, residential quarter where elderly locals tend vegetable plots and the pace of life is noticeably slower than the town centre. The lane leading to the church passes a working farmhouse and a small cider press that operates in October and November — if the doors are open, the owner will almost certainly offer you a glass.
Combine a visit here with a walk along the Mañaria river path, which starts 200 metres from the church and follows a shaded gorge for about 2 kilometres before looping back into town.
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