Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of the Asturias
San Tirso Church
The Church of Saint Thyrsus (Iglesia de San Tirso) was established in the 790s. Dedicated to Saint Thyrsus, it was built by Tioda, the royal architect of Alfonso II of Asturias. The Great Fire of Oviedo in 1521 and rebuilding in the 18th century removed most of the original church, except for a three-light window. The building has suffered so much from alterations over the centuries and only the general plan has been pre ...Oviedo Cathedral
The Cathedral of San Salvador of Oviedo today displays an array of architectural styles, from Pre-Romanesque to Baroque, including Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance parts. It began as a large Pre-Romanesque basilica in the present location of the Gothic cathedral, but nothing more is known about that first building, built by order of King Alfonso II of Asturias. The cathedral was founded by King Fruela I of Astur ...Cámara Santa
The Holy chamber of Oviedo (Cámara Santa de Oviedo) is a pre-Romanesque church built next to pre-romanesque Tower of San Miguel of the city"s cathedral. Nowadays, the church occupies the angle between the south arm of the cathedral transept and a side of the cloister. It was built during the 9th century as a palace chapel for King Alfonso II of Asturias and the church of San Salvador of Oviedo. Apart from acting ...Monastery of San Vicente de Oviedo
San Vicente de Oviedo is a church and monastery in Oviedo. Its foundation, in 761, is recorded in a charter known as the Pacto monástico de Oviedo ('Monastic Pact of Oviedo') a copy made in the 12th-century of the original that is dated 25 November 781 and is considered the earliest document on the monarchy of the Kingdom of Asturias. Although doubts exist as to the veracity of this document since the monastery ...Santa María del Naranco Church
The church of St Mary at Mount Naranco is a pre-Romanesque Asturian building on the slope of Mount Naranco. Ramiro I of Asturias ordered it to be built as a royal palace, part of a larger complex that also incorporated the nearby church of San Miguel de Lillo, 100 meters away. The palace was completed in 842 and had in part a religious function, being consecrated in 848. Its character as a civil building changed in the 1 ...La Foncalada
La Foncalada is a fountain of potable water located outside the city walls of Oviedo; it was built by king Alfonso III of Asturias in the 9th century. This building remains the only surviving civil architectural item for public use of the Early Middle Ages. Its name was given after the inscription in Latin: fontem calatam written on it. Built in Pre-Romanesque style, it has been included with other Asturian Pre-Romanesque ...San Julian de los Prados Church
San Julián de los Prados, also known as Santullano, is a Pre-Ramirense church from the beginning of the 9th century in Oviedo, the capital city of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is one of the greatest works of Asturian art and was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998. The church"s construction was ordered by Alfonso II of Asturias and it was built by the court architect Tioda c. 830. It is d ...Church of San Salvador de Valdediós
The church of the Holy Savior of Valdediós (Iglesia de San Salvador de Valdediós) stands in the Boides valley (Villaviciosa), the place where Alfonso III of Asturias was detained when he was dispossessed by his sons, and where there used to be an old convent governed by the Benedictine Order, substituted in the 13th century by the Cistercians. The church known as the 'Bishops" Chapel' was consecrated ...San Miguel de Lillo Church
St. Michael of Lillo is a Roman Catholic church built on the Naranco mount, near the Church of Santa María del Naranco. It was completed in 842 and it was consecrated by Ramiro I of Asturias and his wife Paterna in the year 848. It was originally dedicated to St. Mary until this worship passed to the nearby palace in the 12th century, leaving this church dedicated to Saint Michael. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Sit ...Church of Santa Cruz de Cangas de Onís
Santa Cruz de Cangas de Onís is a small Roman Catholic chapel in Cangas de Onís, the first capital of the Kingdom of Asturias. It was founded on an artificial mound (a pagan dolmen) by Favila, second king of Asturias, and his queen, Froiliuba. It was begun in 737 and consecrated that same year on 27 October according to its original foundation stone, which has been called the first literary monument of the Reconquista. ...Santa Cristina de Lena Church
St Christine of Lena is an Asturian pre-Romanesque church located in the Lena municipality, on an old Roman road that joined the lands of the plateau with Asturias. The church has a different ground plan to Pre-Romanesque"s traditional basilica. It is a single rectangular space with a barrel vault, with four adjoining structures located in the centre of each facade. The first of these annexes is the typical Asturian ...Church of Santa María de Bendones
Santa María de Bendones is an Asturian Pre-Romanesque Roman Catholic church situated in Bendones, Spain, build between 792 and 842. The structure is similar to the church of San Julián de los Prados, although the ground plan is not the typical basilica of the Pre-Romanesque churches, but has three enclosures at the western end, the central one as an entrance vestibule and two side areas possibly to house pari ...Church of San Pedro de Nora
Saint Peter of Nora (Iglesia de San Pedro de Nora) is recorded for the first time in a donation document of Alfonso III of Asturias in 905. Given its similarities with the church of San Julián de los Prados and the church of Santa María de Bendones, it was probably built in the times of Alfonso II of Asturias. Declared National Monument in 1931, the church burnt in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War losing the roo ...Church of San Salvador de Priesca
Holy Saviour of Priesca (Iglesia de San Salvador de Priesca) is a pre-romanesque church, located in Priesca, next to Villaviciosa. Only a few kilometres from the Church of San Salvador de Valdediós, it is amongst the latest examples of Asturian architecture. With Alfonso III dead and the kingdom of Asturias divided among his sons, Asturian pre-romanesque architecture entered its last stage. Consecrated on September 24, ...Church of San Juan Apóstol y Evangelista
St. John Apostle and Evangelist (Iglesia de San Juan Apóstol y Evangelista) is a Roman Catholic Asturian pre-Romanesque church situated in Santianes de Pravia. The church contains a foundation stone in the form of a letter labyrinth ('Silo Princeps Fecit') that records the 8th-century founding of the church by King Silo of Asturias. The inscription Silo princeps fecit singularly combined in fifteen horizonta ...Church of Santo Adriano de Tuñón
The Church of Santo Adriano de Tuñón is located on the bank of the River Trubia, next to an old Roman road. Founded on January 24, 891, by Alfonso III of Asturias and his wife Jimena of Navarra as a monastery church, it went through large transformations at the beginnings of the 12th century. It was declared a Spanish national monument in June 1931. The church stands on a classic basilica ground plan, althoug ...Church of Santiago de Gobiendes
Saint James of Gobiendes (Iglesia de Santiago de Gobiendes) is a Roman Catholic pre-romanesque church, located in Gobiendes, next to Colunga. It was built during the reign of Alfonso II of Asturias, its structure is typical of pre-romanesque Asturian architecture. It underwent through an important remodeling in 1853, being further restored in 1946 and in 1983.Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings
Historic Site of the week
Palazzo Colonna
The Palazzo Colonna is a palatial block of buildings built in part over ruins of an old Roman Serapeum, and has belonged to the prestigious Colonna family for over twenty generations.
The first part of the palace dates from the 13th century, and tradition holds that the building hosted Dante in his visit to Rome. The first documentary mention notes that the property hosted Cardinal Giovanni and Giacomo Colonna in the 13th century. It was also home to Cardinal Oddone Colonna before he ascended to the papacy as Martin V (1417–1431).
With his passing, the palace was sacked during feuds, and the main property passed into the hands of the Della Rovere family. It returned to the Colonna family when Marcantonio I Colonna married Lucrezia Gara Franciotti Della Rovere, the niece of pope Julius II. The Colonna"s alliance to the Habsburg power, likely protected the palace from looting during the Sack of Rome (1527).
Starting with Filippo Colonna (1578–1639) many changes have refurbished and create a unitary complex around a central garden. Architects including Girolamo Rainaldi and Paolo Marucelli labored on specific projects. Only in the 17th and 18th centuries were the main facades completed. Much of this design was completed by Antonio del Grande (including the grand gallery), and Girolamo Fontana (decoration of gallery). In the 18th century, the long low facade designed by Nicola Michetti with later additions by Paolo Posi with taller corner blocks (facing Piazza Apostoli) was constructed recalls earlier structures resembling a fortification.
The main gallery (completed 1703) and the masterful Colonna art collection was acquired after 1650 by both the cardinal Girolamo I Colonna and his nephew the Connestabile Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna and includes works by Lorenzo Monaco, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Palma the Elder, Salviati, Bronzino, Tintoretto, Pietro da Cortona, Annibale Carracci (painting of The Beaneater), Guercino, Francesco Albani, Muziano and Guido Reni. Ceiling frescoes by Filippo Gherardi, Giovanni Coli, Sebastiano Ricci, and Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari celebrate the role of Marcantonio II Colonna in the battle of Lepanto (1571). The gallery is open to the public on Saturday mornings.
The older wing of the complex known as the Princess Isabelle"s apartments, but once housing Martin V"s library and palace, contains frescoes by Pinturicchio, Antonio Tempesta, Crescenzio Onofri, Giacinto Gimignani, and Carlo Cesi. It contains a collection of landscapes and genre scenes by painters like Gaspard Dughet, Caspar Van Wittel (Vanvitelli), and Jan Brueghel the Elder.
Along with the possessions of the Doria-Pamphilij and Pallavacini-Rospigliosi families, this is one of the largest private art collections in Rome.