This discovery, the result of an investigation by a secondary school teacher from Oñati, significantly enhances the historical and artistic value of the building. The research has revealed that the reliefs are actually copies of classical mythological engravings, derived from a series of small bronze pieces popularized by the Renaissance jeweler Galeazzo Mondella.

The author of the investigation hopes that his finding will rekindle professional interest in the monument. The University is currently undergoing restoration and is set to reopen in September. The figure of Hercules is common in monumental university buildings, as Renaissance humanists viewed him as an ideal model of human development.

The researcher argues that there are seven Hercules figures in Oñati, although only four are confirmed. He reached his conclusion about the origin of the reliefs by noting identical models in the Patio de la Infanta of the old Zaporta palace in Zaragoza and on the facade of the Sacra Capilla del Salvador in Úbeda (Jaén). Studies on the Aragonese building provided the definitive clue that led to the goldsmith Mondella and his bronze plaques, measuring 7x8 and 10x11 centimeters, which are now distributed in various museums and even available for sale online.

This finding, according to the investigation's author, "evidences a historical-artistic and human value far superior to that previously attributed to the University of Sancti Spiritus" and "provides detailed models for the restoration of the damaged reliefs in Oñati." The facade speaks not only of Hercules; numerous saints have also been identified, whose images have been found in the same order in the chapel of Eton College, where members of the English royal family study.