The house of his birth is now preserved as a part of large Jesuit compound, the Sanctuary of Loyola, a major attraction of tourists and pilgrims alike.

After various journeys to Rome, Barcelona, Alcalá de Henares and Salamanca, he went to Paris in 1528, where he studied philosophy and theology.

Together with some other students he founded the core of the Society of Jesus, which received Papal approval in 1540 and chose St Ignatius as its superior general.

In addition, the museum offers one of the most complete sets of machine tools in the Basque Country from the old Urola Railway garage.

This installation is preserved just as it was inaugurated in 1925, with an old electric motor that drives its 16 machines through a complex system of pulleys and belts.

The amazing facilities of the old electrical transformer plant with its original equipment rectification, mercury vapor, reflect the most modern technology of a century ago.

Nowadays, the train museum is operated by Eusko Tren, a public railway company run by the Basque government.

A recent study supported by the Basque government, "Azpeitia 1936-1945" examines daily life in the period and an index of Azpeitians of the time with a summary of their political activities during and after the Civil War.

In 1750, numerous baroque elements typical of the time were added and the tower, now a palace, acquired its current appearance.

It contains a polychrome Gothic carving of Our Lady of Olatz, for whom it is said that San Ignatius felt a special devotion.

In 1535, after completing his studies in Paris, when Íñigo de Loyola (Saint Ignatius) arrived in Azpeitia, he was ill.

The Baroque altarpiece and the baptismal font where Íñigo de Loyola was Christianized are of outstanding beauty.