The façade of the church, completed circa 1330, is one of the most significant examples of Gothic sculpture in Navarre. The intervention of various masters can be appreciated and the French influence is evident both in iconographic motifs and in its manner of completion.
Despite the ornamental profusion, it retains a great refinement and balance. It was restored in 2016 and has recovered part of its original polychromy. In Navarre there are similar models in the Churches of the Holy Sepulchre of Estella and San Saturnino of Artajona.
On both sides of the façade there is a frieze with the apostolate presided over by the Saviour, framed by arches, from which a rich ornamentation of fantastical creatures and various characters stands out. Sts. Peter and James the Greater on the left and St. Paul, St. John and Jesus on the right, stand out from the rest of the apostles.
Let’s now focus on the façade itself. A smiling Virgin seated with the Child under a canopy presides over the tympanum, where the Annunciation, the Birth of Jesus, the Presentation in the Temple, the Massacre of the Innocents, the Flight into Egypt and the Baptism of Jesus are staged on the sides; all of this culminated with two decorated keystones: an angel crowning the Virgin and an expressive mask which represents the Green Man.
On the left, in the beginnings of the archivolts, one recognises Herod with a devil whispering in his ear and the Three Wise Men in the Adoration of the Child; on the right side there are several decapitated figures which could represent the adoration of the shepherds or a procession of musicians.
The capitals on the right incorporate a scene of dice players fighting, the Reprobation of God to Adam and Eve, two friars and the seated Virgin and Child. One of the two friars could well represent St. Francis of Assisi, passing through Olite on his way to Santiago de Compostela, as evidenced by the inscription FRANCISCUS PETS on a phylactery; which seems to be a depiction of the episode of St. Francis’ sermon to the birds.
The lintel is a unique piece full of life. On the left a man perched in a holm oak tree shaking acorns for the pigs to eat, a hunter shooting a deer, the vine and the hawthorn can be seen. In the scenes on the right it is difficult to determine the real from the symbolic, the Christian from the pagan. As if hidden in a vegetation paradise, a hybrid creature playing the bagpipes and a burlesque character dancing, a grotesque quadruped next to an obscene character, a centaur kneeling before a hybrid creature of lady and a reptile and two young men fighting while riding on lions. Scenes with a moralising purpose.
The jambs show a very varied iconography, loaded with symbolism. Highlights include scenes from Genesis, the Old Testament, some from the New Testament, others taken from everyday life, fantastical creatures and decorative architectural and plant motifs follow one another without apparent order.
On the left jamb there are animals which represent evil and scenes from Genesis: Cain and Abel, the temptation of Eve and man’s sin, and on the right the redemption from sin with the pelican, symbol of Jesus’ sacrifice, and the door of the Church, redeemer from sin.
In the five external archivolts the vine acquires a singular protagonism. Exhibiting an exuberant and fine plant decoration based on vine leaves, oak leaves and diverse flora. Various small animals appear among the vines: worms, birds, snails and mammals, and hidden among the oaks a man’s face, the guardaviñas (vine-keeper). A unique stone vineyard. Among the leaves are two royal figures praying under canopies, of difficult recognition, possibly biblical kings.
The façade is completed by a cornice decorated with leaves, among which strange characters stand out, and a large rose window with trilobular tracery. The roof is intended to protect the façade from inclement weather.
The cloister was added a century after the church was completed, in 1432. It was ordered to be built by Queen Blanche and is a testament to her devotion to Mary. On both sides of the entrance arch to the atrium stand the figures of Queen Blanche, daughter of Charles III the Noble, and the Virgin and Child. Both figures rest on corbels with the coat of arms of Queen Blanche and John II, Navarre-Evreux and Navarre-Evreux/Aragon-Castile-Leon. The latter is repeated on the entrance arch. The authorship of this work, of great classicism, is attributed to the workshop of Johan Lome, master sculptor of the royal works.
The church was declared a National Monument in 1925.