Church and Mass - Iglesia de Santa Maria (13-17th c. Gothic) Cesare Borgia died in the village and his remains are buried in the church, which has an outstanding Renaissance Porch. Mass daily at 19:30 (Sun 11:00) with pilgrim blessing.

Just before Logroño, you leave Navarra to enter the wine producing region of La Rioja.

The stage from Los Arcos to Logroño is a very long day and recently I have split this day by staying in the beautiful city of Viana. This has the advantage of shortening a tough day as well as giving you at least half a day to enjoy the city of Logroño. Viana has a lovely parish albergue which is donativo for both the accommodation and the evening meal. Most communal meals in any albergue are generally vegatarian so they appeal to the widest audience and keep costs down. In my experience communal meals are always excellent though this may be partially due to the wine that seems to flow freely and the great company. After dinner, you may also be given a private tour of the inside of the beautiful church of Santa María, which is a real treat even if you have visited the inside during the day. However, be warned as in common with many parish albergue you will be sleeping on very thin mattresses on the floor which can make for a very poor night's sleep. None the less I still love staying in parish albergues when I have the opportunity. If you have the finances that allow, please be generous with your donations as this is an excellent way of helping fellow less well off pilgrim make their pilgrimage.

The infamous Cesare Borgia (1475 to 1507) is buried in Viana. Cesare Borgia was the son of Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia) and friend of Niccolò Machiavelli. Cesare is thought to be the inspiration for Machiavelli's "The Prince". After a career where under the patronage of his father he was bishop of Pamplona at 15, a cardinal at 18, the first person in history to resign a cardinalcy, Duke of Valentinois, ruler of Romagna and Marche in Northern Italy and head of the papal armed forces, Cesare had been imprisoned in Medina del Campo (near Valladolid) after the death of his father. In 1506 he escaped and made his way back to Pamplona where he was welcomed by his brother-in-law John III King of Navarra who was in need of an experienced military commander. In 1507 he successfully recaptured the town of Viana on behalf of John III but not the castle which he set about besieging. On the 11th of March 1507 he chased, on his own, three fleeing knights from the sieged castle but ended up being killed himself, He was left striped naked, the awful scar (caused by syphilus)on his face uncovered and nothing covering him except for a small red tile covering his genitals. Under the orders of John III he was burried inside the church of Santa María (the big church in the centre of Viana which hosts the parish albergue) in a marble tomb. The following inscription is believed to have been engraved on the tomb:

Here lies in a little earth

he who everyone feared,

he who peace and war

held in his hand.

Oh, you who go in search

of worthy things to praise,

if you would praise the worthiest

then your path stops here

and you do not need to go any farther.

We do not know the exact words because in 1527, the tomb was destroyed under the orders of the Bishop of Calahorra who was outraged that such a terrible sinner was buried inside a church. His body was reburied just outside the church in unconsecrated ground below the road in order that his body would be trampled by man and beast. On the anniversary of his death the locals would avoid this street for fear of coming upon Cesare's ghost. It remained underneath the road until it was accidentally uncovered by some local workmen in 1945. After verification that they were the remains of Cesare, his bones were first transferred to the town hall and thence to outside the church and finally in 2007 they were reburied inside the church once again. In modern times, Cesare Borgia is better known as the principal enemy in the 2010 video game Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.

There has been a settlement at Viana for at least four and a half thousand years although Viana itself was officially founded in 1219 by King Sancho VII of Navarra (Sancho the Strong). It was elevated to the status of a city in 1630 by King Felipe VI of Navarra (Felipe IV of Castile) which gave it a seat in the Cortes (the Spanish Parliament). Being even closer to the border between Navarra and Castile like Los Arcos, Torres and Monjardín, Viana has changed hands between Navarra and Castile multiple times. During the first Carlist war Viana found itself wedged between the Liberals based in Logroño and the Carlists based in Estella. On September 4th, 1834, the famous Basque Carlist leader Zumalacárregui with a force of just 240 attacked and defeated a force of 900 Liberal troops in Viana causing them to retreat back to Logroño. The remains of this battle can be seen in the bullet holes in the house next to the Portal of San Juan at the corner of the main square (Plaza de los Fueros). The Great French Wine Blight of the 1870s and 1880s provided for massive growth and economic boom for the wine production in the area around Viana and for the region of La Rioja which we will enter in just a few kilometres.

Local gastronomic specialities in Viana include artichokes (alcachofas) often served with clams (almejas), locally produced olive oil, bacalao al ajoarriero (a kind of stew with salted cod with green and red peppers, potatoes and chilli), canutillos (a traditional confectionery with a fried shell stuffed with cream) and to drink local Cava.