Viscounts of Azpa
The Viscount of Azpa is a Spanish noble title created between 1556–1598 by Philip II of Spain for Alonso Vélaz de Medrano Navarra y Liédena, a descendant of the Kings of Navarre, and a cavalry captain under the Grand Duke of Alba. The title takes its name from Azpa in the Valle de Egüés, where the Medrano family maintained its palace. The title was no longer in use after the death of Joaquín Vélaz de Medrano, 6th Viscount of Azpa. In 1793 the line was elevated when his son José Joaquín Vélaz de Medrano y Gante was created 1st Marquess of Fontellas, 1st Viscount of Amaláin, by King Charles IV on 19 April 1793.
Members of the House held municipal and regional offices, exercised seigneurial jurisdiction at Azpa, Ripalda, and Mendillorri, and sat in the Diputación of the Kingdom of Navarre.
List of Viscounts of Azpa
The Town of Azpa
is situated at the southeastern tip of the Egüés Valley and is the final locality accessible via national road 150. Azpa holds significant historical interest, with remnants of its noble past still visible. The town is home to the palace of the Viscount of Azpa who were also granted the Marquesaate of Fontellas by King Charles IV of Spain. It maintained noble status for centuries, and in 1802, the town of Azpa was recorded as a secular lordship.File:El Bocal de Fontellas-Navarra Spain-Palacio de Carlos V.JPG|thumb|right|Fontellas, Navarra : Palace of Carlos V and Riverside of the Ebro River
At the entrance of Azpa is a building known as The Palace, which forms a horizontal block, with a semicircular arch as the entrance and a baroque shield on the facade. The House of Medrano ruled Azpa for centuries, and members, including Carlos Vélaz de Medrano, was once the lord of the palaces and pechas of Azpa and Mendillori. The Medrano family is documented on a table of genealogy, linking the Viscounts of Azpa as direct descendants of Queen Joan II of Navarre and King Philip III of Évreux.
The Palace of Azpa appears as a corporal of armory on the official payroll of the Kingdom. Azpa is located 16km east of Pamplona. The palace of Azpa belonged in 1631 to Alonso Vélaz de Medrano y Navarra, III Viscount of Azpa, whose guardian, on his behalf, brought a lawsuit in the chamber over the rebate of the barracks. In those years, the firstborn of the Medrano lineage already bore the title of viscounts of Azpa.
1st Viscount
The title Viscount of Azpa was made in favor of Alonso Vélaz de Medrano Navarra y Liédena by Philip II of Spain between 1556 and 1598. It was one of the 115 perpetual and hereditary honorary titles and offices granted in Navarre. As the 1st Viscount of Azpa, he was also lord of the palace and town of Azpa. He married Catalina de Liédena y Larrasoaña, Lady of Mendillorri. Together, they had an heir named Alonso Vélaz de Medrano y Liédena, 2nd Viscount of Azpa, Lord of Mendillori.The Palace of Mendillori still exists today. This noble family is well known for its martial prowess. The ancestor of the first Viscount, Jaime Vélaz de Medrano y Echauz, royal guard of John III of Navarre, captain of the king's standing army, played a critical role in the defense of the Kingdom of Navarre alongside his elder brother Juan Vélaz de Medrano y Echauz, Lord of Igúzquiza, merino of the Merindad of Estella, during the Spanish conquest of Navarre. Both were defenders, with Jaime serving as mayor of Amaiur-Maya and alcaide of the Castle of Maya during the historic battle of Amaiur-Maya in 1522.
Alliance with the House of Liédena: Succession of the Palace and Lordship of Mendillorri
Around 1565, the palace of Mendillori passed into the possession of Licenciado Liédena following his marriage to Juana de Larrasoaña. The owners of Mendillorri enjoyed the privilege of sitting in the Kingdom's Cortes and were summoned during the time of the viceroys, the Count of Miranda and the Marquess of Almazán. In 1588, Martín de Rada declared in a lawsuit that the estate was a "palace of great quality."In 1588, the palace of Mendillori was owned by Catalina de Liédena y Larrasoaña, and in 1631, her son Alonso Vélaz de Medrano y Liédena, 2nd Viscount of Azpa, received from King Philip IV the grant of lower and middle jurisdiction over the place, in exchange for a service of 800 ducats to the Crown.
The palace was inherited by Alonso Vélaz de Medrano y Navarra, 3rd Viscount of Azpa, married to Petronila Pérez de Veraiz e Ibero. In 1690, the Palace of Mendillori was owned by his son José, 4th Viscount of Azpa, who carried out works valued at 750 ducats. He was succeeded by his son Joaquín, 6th Viscount of Azpa, who passed on the palace to his son José Joaquín Vélaz de Medrano, 1st Marquess of Fontellas, 1st Viscount of Amaláin.
2nd Viscount
On 6 August 1604, Deputy Alonso Vélaz de Medrano, 2nd Viscount of Azpa, served as the military representative in the Deputation of the Kingdom, where he played a key role in representing the interests of the crown and military. He married a Lady from the royal House of Navarra, herself being a descendant of the Kings of Navarre from the Capetain dynasty.3rd Viscount
Alonso Vélaz de Medrano y Navarra, 3rd Viscount of Azpa, and a descendant of Queen Joan II of Navarre and King Philip III of Évreux, married María de Ripalda y Ayanz de Ureta and together they had 8 children in Azpa.On July 16, 1632, at the Palace of Mendillorri, Alonso Vélaz de Medrano y Navarra, 3rd Vizcount of Azpa, formally asserted his jurisdictional authority over his estate. He had purchased these rights from the Crown a year earlier for 800 ducats. In a formal act asserting lower and middle jurisdiction purchased from the Crown, he took his place in the palace's main hall, seated on a high‑backed chair and holding the royal staff. He then invited residents to present grievances and remained to adjudicate petitions, publicly exercising seigneurial justice. Addressing the estate's small population, just two households, he invited any aggrieved residents to seek justice. Remaining at his tribunal for an extended period, he publicly administered justice without opposition, solidifying his position as the legal authority over the domain.
On 27 December 1642, Alonso Vélaz de Medrano y Navarra was representing the university Deputation of the Kingdom of Navarre.
His family maintained ties with the other nobility in Navarre during the reign of the Spanish Habsburg Monarchy. Alonso Vélaz de Medrano y Navarra married Maria de Ripalda. His wife was the daughter of Luis de Ripalda and María Ayanz de Ureta. Luis de Ripalda's parents were Luis Ripalda and Agueda Amatriain. Luis de Ripalda, later known as the Count of Ripalda, married María Sebastián. María Sebastián's father was Salvador Sebastián, who was the uncle of Luis Sebastián y Donamaría, the lord of Iriberri.
Alonso's House had influence that extended to the capital of Navarre. In 1847, the Vélaz de Medrano family from Pamplona held the right to appoint the parish priest of Ripalda.
4th Viscount
José Velaz de Medrano y Ripalda y Navarra, IV Viscount of Azpa, lord of Mendillori, married Ana María de Larrea Zunzarren, also known as Lady Beunza Larrea.Together, they had two children:
- Josépha Velaz de Medrano y Larrea,, who married Francisco Argaiz Galdeano VI, with descendants.
- Joaquin Velaz de Medrano y Larrea, V Viscount of Azpa, born around 1690 in Irunea and died in 1770.
On 28 February 1692 José Vélaz de Medrano, Viscount of Medrano, IV Viscount of Azpa, was a representative of the Military Deputation. On 16 December 1699 José Vélaz de Medrano, Viscount of Azpa replaced Juan Ventura de Arizcun, Viscount of Arbeloa in the University Deputation.
Don José was the lord of Mendillori and the town of Autol in the 18th century. In 1716, José's daughter Doña María Francisca Vélaz de Medrano was married to Gabriel Cano de Aponte, Royal Governor of Chile from 1717 to 1733. José Vélaz de Medrano, Viscount of Azpa, Lord of Autol, was noted for his claim against the Deputation of the Kingdom, regarding payment of 508 ducats for the expenses of a trip to Madrid.
5th Viscount
Joaquín Vélaz de Medrano y Larrea, 5th Viscount of Azpa and 19th Lord of Autol, was born around 1690 in Irunea. On 23 March 1726, he served as the university representative in the Deputation of the Kingdom of Navarre alongside Don Elías Íñiguez de Medrano.He married Teresa de Álava. Their daughter, María Josefa Vélaz de Medrano y Álava, married Francisco de Argáiz y Jaso, 6th Lord of Pozuelo, a direct descendant of Juana de Navarra and Luis de Beaumont, Count of Lerín and Constable of Navarre.
María Josefa was the mother of María Joaquina de Argáiz y Vélaz de Medrano, who married Pedro Ximénez de Tejada, later created 1st Marquess of Ximénez de Tejada. Her brother, Francisco Xavier de Argáiz Jaso, became the 7th Lord of Pozuelo and married Ignacia de Esquível.
María Joaquina de Argáiz y Vélaz de Medrano was the mother of Joaquín Antonio Ximénez de Tejada y Argáiz y Vélaz de Medrano, 2nd Marquess of Ximénez de Tejada, who carried the Medrano–Navarrese lineage directly into the marquessate.
Joaquín Antonio was also related to Gabino Gaínza Fernández de Medrano, through Gabino's mother Eulalia Fernández de Medrano y Jiménez de Tejada, daughter of Enrique Fernández de Medrano y Vicuña and Francisca Ximénez de Tejada. Francisca was the sister of Fray Francisco Ximénez de Tejada, Grand Master of the Order of Malta, and of Pedro Gregorio Ximénez de Tejada, later 1st Marquess of Ximénez de Tejada. Through this shared Tejada–Medrano ancestry, the descendants of the Viscounts of Azpa were linked directly to the grand mastership of Malta and to the marquessate.