Olite

Olite belongs to the central Navarre country, where cultivated plains, vineyards, and roads connect a fortified town with its rural surroundings. Grain, wine, livestock, and local crafts support markets and households, while the position between northern routes and the Ebro-facing lands gives the town broader connections. Water, fields, and transport sustain both ordinary residents and the institutions of government and religion.

Olite became a favoured residence of the kings of Navarre. In the early fifteenth century Charles III and Queen Eleanor began work on the royal palace, and in 1407 Charles made the town the centre of a new administrative district. Castile occupied southern Navarre in 1512; Olite received the title of city in 1630, although its political importance had declined from its royal heyday.