Crypt of the Galarreta family (episcopal pantheon)

Crypt of the Galarreta family (episcopal pantheon)

This crypt is associated with the Chapel of the Holy Christ, which had been founded by the brothers Francisco and Martín de Galarreta, senior representatives of diplomacy in Flanders during the reigns of Philip IV and Charles II. They decided to enlarge the small Chapel of Saint Prudentius with the Chapel of the Holy Christ after they had inherited the former. Its construction was begun in 1661 by Pedro de Amezti, a stonemason from Guipúzcoa, in collaboration with Juan de Ansola Ibaiguren, a renowned stonemason from Eibar. These masters limited themselves to building the chapel, as the design had been sent from Flanders by the then Secretary of State Martín de Galarreta. The work was completed in 1663. It was constructed as an octagonal floor plan covered by a semicircular dome and lamp on the outside. It had an underground crypt that served as a burial place for the family, although nowadays it has been fitted out to bury the bishops of Vitoria, including a bronze chamber that can accommodate nine graves.