Surrounded by fine mists in an enigmatically remote location, the Tower of Donamaría (also known as the "Casa de Tablas") invites the traveller to stop and admire it. It is located in the north of Navarre 5 miles from the
Bertiz Natural Park.
Elegant and austere, it rises gently on a vantage point from where it has watched the passing of time since the
15th century. Despite a recent restoration, it still
conserves the essence of the old construction style of the damp Atlantic valleys of the northern area.
It is basically
Gothic and has a rectangular structure made from material that was easily found nearby. The first two floors are stone, while wood is the real attraction on the top two floors, where it shows a kind of scaffold structure that some people have compared to a music box thanks to the magical sounds that can be heard inside it. The building is covered by a hip roof.
The embrasures that are dotted along the lower part remind us of the defensive use of the
mediaeval towers that were commonly found in the area. Indeed, their ancient function leads us to think that the original factory was modified because the wood would have been devoured by flames and the tower would have been easy to capture.
This structure has been declared
an asset of cultural interest and is
one of the best examples of civil architecture,
one of the lastof its type that still stand in Navarre.
