Arkaia (occasionally spelled in Spanish as ''Arcaya'') is a hamlet on the eastern side of

Vitoria Vitoria or Vitória may refer to : People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Steven Vitória (b ...

in the

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

province of

Álava Álava ( in Spanish) or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Álava, former medieval Catholic bishopric and now Latin titular see. Its ca ...

. In 2017 it had 78 inhabitants.

History

Roman remains

There are archeological remains of a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

bathhouse that were discovered in the 18th century by Lorenzo Prestamero. Only a fraction of the Roman settlement remains, which covered an estimated 19 hectares of land. In 1976 the archaeologist Ramón Loza Lengaran dug the bathhouse remains and categorized them as likely for public use. Recent digs have indicated that the area was inhabited at least from 300 BC onwards. The Roman remains have been linked with the town of Suessatio-Suestatio that appears in classic sources.Mostly in the

Antonine Itinerary The Antonine Itinerary ( la, Itinerarium Antonini Augusti, "The Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is a famous ''itinerarium'', a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly ...

, in the

Ravenna Cosmography The ''Ravenna Cosmography'' ( la, Ravennatis Anonymi Cosmographia, "The Cosmography of the Unknown Ravennese") is a list of place-names covering the world from India to Ireland, compiled by an anonymous cleric in Ravenna around 700 AD. Text ...

and Ptolomeo The proximity to the

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

linking

Asturica Augusta Astorga () is a municipality and city of Spain located in the central area of the province of León, in the autonomous community of Castilla y León, southwest of the provincial capital. It is located in the transit between the Páramo Leonés ...

with

Burdigala Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture o ...

known as

Ab Asturica Burdigalam Ab Asturica Burdigalam (numbered as Via XXXIV on the Antonine Itinerary) was a Roman road that linked the towns of ''Asturica Augusta'' (modern Astorga) in Gallaecia and ''Burdigala'' (modern Bordeaux) in Aquitania. The Antonine Itinerary mentio ...

could explain the size of the settlement. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

pilgrims from Europe started using the old Roman road in their pilgrimage to

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St ...

as part of the Interior Basque Route of the

Way of St. James The Camino de Santiago ( la, Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; gl, O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the Twelve Apostle ...

. There is evidence of the pilgrimage in the interior of the Church of the

Nativity of Mary The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Nativity of Mary, the Marymas or the Birth of the Virgin Mary, refers to a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of Mary, mother of Jesus. The modern canon of scripture does not record Mary's bir ...

(first documented in 1226) in the center of town.

The Arcaya Family

The Arcaya family hails from this place, going back as far as the battle of Padura of Arrigorriaga in 848 in which Andres de Arcaya fought. Diego de Arcaya is another member of this family who served under

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

who returned later to settle in the town of

Lekeitio Lekeitio (; es, Lequeitio) is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Spanish Autonomous Community of Basque Country, northeast from Bilbao. The municipality has 7,307 inhabitants (2019) and is one of the most importa ...

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

. The current Arcaya Family House was built in 1132. The first Arcaya who emigrated to the Americas was

Melchor de Arcaya Melchor may refer to: * Melchor (name) * Melchor Island in Chile *Melchor Ocampo, Nuevo León, a municipality in Mexico *Melchor Ocampo, State of Mexico, a town and municipality in Mexico *Villa de Tututepec de Melchor Ocampo, a town and municipalit ...

, who arrived in Chile in 1630, settling in Colina, Chile. The Arcayas were large landowners in Chile, mainly in the Santiago area and the surname was common in the neighborhood of

Vitacura Vitacura is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It is one of the most expensive and fashionable areas of Santiago. Inhabitants are primarily high income families. It belongs to the Northeastern zone of ...

and the nearby towns of

Pirque Pirque () is a commune of Chile in Cordillera Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region; it is located 2.8 kilometers southeast of Puente Alto and 21.3 kilometers south-southeast of the center of Santiago. It is situated at the base of the Cajón de ...

and Colina. The most prominent Arcaya is Francisco Diaz de Arcaya, son of Pedro Diaz de Arcaya, who took the name of

Francisco de Vitoria Francisco de Vitoria ( – 12 August 1546; also known as Francisco de Victoria) was a Spanish Roman Catholic philosophy, philosopher, theology, theologian, and jurist of Renaissance Spain. He is the founder of the tradition in philosophy known ...

when he became a friar.

Population

In 2017, Arkaia's population was 78. This was a decrease from ten years earlier, when it had 88 inhabitants.

References

Vitoria-Gasteiz Towns in Álava {{basque-geo-stub