Church of San Salvador

Few churches surprise you quite as much the moment you step through the door as San Salvador in Getaria. The floor isn't level: the building follows the slope of the land, and its different levels, with a raised presbytery, create a most unusual perspective. Above, a splendid openwork triforium runs around the entire interior, while slender pointed vaults crown a Gothic space of three naves, each divided into three bays.

The building's history is closely bound up with that of Gipuzkoa. In 1397 the territory's first General Assemblies were held here, which gives some idea of the importance this church, documented since at least the 14th century, already enjoyed at the time. And it was probably in its font that Juan Sebastián Elcano, the town's most famous son, was baptised. Today it is a designated National Monument.

Although its origins are medieval, most of the structure was built between the 16th and 18th centuries, entirely in sandstone ashlar. Its two towers are well worth a closer look. The northern one, truncated and known as the Inquisition Tower, is the older of the two. The other, rising in six stages, was designed by Pedro de Alzaga and took an extraordinarily long time to complete: work began in 1525 and was not finished until 1755. Barely five years later, lightning destroyed its upper section. Nor was the 19th century kind to the church, which needed extensive repairs after the damage it suffered during the Carlist Wars.

Don't leave without seeking out the Katrapona Passageway, which runs beneath the apse and links the old town with the fishing harbour. Walking through it is the best way to understand how the church and the sea have always been part of the same daily life in Getaria.