Route through Samaniego's birthplace

The Old City Hall, located over the current Puerta Nueva or Puerta de las Carnicerías, was built in 1574 as a city hall, butcher's shop and jail. Previously, Council meetings were held in the portico and interior of the church of San Juan. Its Renaissance design, the work of Gonzalo de Asteasu and Domingo de Uriarte, presents a semicircular arch and displays the imperial coat of arms of Charles V on the façade, the work of Martín Otálora. Between the arch and the door of the bakery there are engravings with the measures used by the merchants. The entrance door dates from the 15th century.

The church-fortress of San Juan houses next to the north door the baptismal font where Samaniego was baptized on October 14, 1745 and the chapel where he is buried. This building is a mixture of styles, from 12th century Romanesque to 18th century Neoclassical, with an outstanding Baroque altarpiece. Its magnificent south portal shows a stone Annunciation and a rose window. The baptismal font, a jewel of Plateresque art, displays the coat of arms of a bishop. The chapel of the Samaniego family, from the 16th century, has Solomonic columns and a baroque altarpiece centered on a Pietà, with works by San Francisco Javier and a copy of Rubens. There lies the fabulist, dressed as a Capuchin, according to his will.

Félix María Sánchez Samaniego was born on October 12, 1745 in Laguardia, in the palace house in front of the one you are in. Son of Don Félix Ignacio Sánchez Samaniego and Doña María Teresa Zabala, he was the fifth of nine siblings. He studied in Bayonne with the Jesuits and in 1781 he published in Valencia his first book with 105 fables that gave him worldwide fame. Considered one of the best fabulists in the Spanish language, he also wrote "El jardín de Venus". He died in 1801 and was buried in the family chapel of the church of San Juan. The house, dating from the 17th century, stands out for its elegant facade and interior courtyard, and is now owned by the Provincial Council of Alava.

The convent of Capuchin friars, located south of the cemetery of the church of San Juan, occupied the land of the old Jewish quarter. Beyond the physical proximity, there was a spiritual connection with the Samaniego family, as Félix María donated his country house to sick Capuchin friars and asked to be buried in their habit. Built in the mid-17th century, it has an austere Franciscan-style façade, crowned by a pediment with the town's coat of arms. After fulfilling several functions, today it is the Health Center.

The Monument to the Fabulist was inaugurated during the San Juan festivities of 1883, under the mayoralty of Telesforo Rabanera. Located in the north corner of the Paseo del Collado, known as El Crucifijo, it consists of an iron kiosk with an oriental style trellis, supported by eight columns on an octagonal stone base with steps. The bronze bust rests on a pedestal of white Angoulême stone, with the inscription: "The town of Laguardia to its distinguished son D. Félix Mª Samaniego". The work of the architect Severino Achúcarro and the artist Vicente Larrea, both from Bilbao, the monument honors the famous fabulist, author of Las Moscas (The Flies).

On the north façade of the Town Hall, in the main square, there is a carillon clock that, instead of the typical cuckoo, presents a couple of dancers. This tribute to the traditional dances of San Juan shows the Cachimorro, the main character who makes his way through the audience with blows on a wrinkled rabbit skin, to the rhythm of bagpipes and tambourine. The carillon is activated at specific times; it is advisable to be there five minutes before. Hours: from June 1 to October 14, 12, 13, 14, 17, 20 and 22 h; from October 15 to May 31, 12, 14, 17 and 20 h.