Pamplona is a city located in the north of the Iberian Peninsula,
along the banks of the River Arga
and at the foot of the Pyrenees.
It was formerly the Kingdom of Pamplona, and the origin of the Kingdom of Navarra.
At this time it is the capital of the Regional Government of Navarra.
According to tradition, it grew from a Vascon town called Iruña.
It was founded as Pompaelo, in honor of the Roman General Pompey the Great, in 75 BC, during the war against the Roman general Quintus Sertorius.
Christianity was brought to Pamplona by Saint Saturnin of Toulouse, Bishop of Toulouse.
San Fermín was the first Bishop of Pamplona and died a martyr under the persecutions of the Emperor Diocletian.
In the 6th century Pamplona was invaded by the Germanic peoples, and came to belong to the Visigoth Kingdom of Toledo.
In 824, under the authority of the Emirate of Córdoba, the Kingdom of Pamplona was organized, headed by Iñigo Arista, the first King of Pamplona, with the support of the "Banu Qasi" Muwallad dynasty and the bishopric of Pamplona.
At that time, the population was divided into three independent boroughs: Navarrería, with a local population, and those of San Cernin and San Nicolás, with a Frankish one.
It would be in the year 1423, with the Privilege of the Union treaty, granted by Carlos the Third the Noble, when Pamplona was unified and constituted into a single city,
the boroughs disappearing and the City Hall rising in its center.
In the 16th century, under the Catholic Monarchs, "the Navarra south of the Pyrenees" was incorporated into the crowns of Aragon and Castile.
At an architectural level, the Cathedral looms over the city's Roman forum,
by the walls, which are quite well preserved.
The Way of St James crosses the River Arga, over the beautiful Magdalena Bridge, running through the town on its way towards Santiago de Compostela.
The churches of San Nicolás and San Saturnino merit visits,
the Plaza del Castillo
and the Ciudadela, a fortress that today is a leisure and cultural facility.
The city also boasts spacious green areas, such as the unique Japanese park of Yamagúchi
and the Taconera Gardens, where part of the old walls are conserved.
We cannot fail to mention the University Clinic of Navarra, an outstanding medical facility for its integration of palliative care and cancer treatments, a institution functioning as a driving force behind visits to the city.
Pamplona is a paradise for lovers of good food. Its cuisine shines thanks to the richness of the orchards along the shores of the Ebro River:
artichokes
asparagus
borage
Emblematic dishes such as pocha beans with chistorra sausage,
cod-stuffed peppers,
ajoarriero codfish,