Ituren

Ituren is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain. Ituren is in the Pyrenees, 56.5 km due north of Pamplona in the north of the Spanish autonomous region of Navarre. It is situated on the flood plain of the River Ezkurra, a tributary of the River Bidasoa, in the shadow of the Mendaur mountain (1060m) which is characterised by the tiny white-washed chapel of La Trinidad, on its summit.GeographyThe territory of Ituren extends over an area of 15 km². In 2012 the village had a population of 518 inhabitants, a 10% increase over the past 10 years. In 2013, 64 children were enrolled at the village primary school which instructs the pupils in Basque (Euskera). The inhabitants of Ituren are distributed between 4 small dependent hamlets and isolated homesteads. These hamlets are Ituren, Aurtiz, and Lasaga on the valley floor and, the smallest of all, the higher mountain hamlet of Ameztia. The valley, extending east to west, is called Malerreka after the river.Although there are extensive pastures, orchards of quince, apple, cherry, fig, and peach trees are common and the mountain slopes are partly covered with oak, chestnut, walnut, beech, and ash.UrbanismIturen is a traditional village built in typical Basque style with large, solid houses with steep-sloping red-tiled roofs and wooden balconies often decorated with geraniums. Many of them have distinctive pink sandstone markings around the doors and window frames, a common feature of Basque design. Some of the manor houses in the village have gothic details and date back to the 17th century.