THE PRE-ROMANESQUE STYLE

Very few cities around the world can show a singular element, something unique impossible to find anywhere else. Oviedo can display the largest and most representative architectural ensemble of the so-called Pre-Romanesque architecture, which clearly differs from all the other known contemporary styles in the solutions it provides to the building art, its exquisite forms, its beautiful ornaments and beauty.

The Royal Palace, today known as Santa María del Naranco, San Miguel de Lillo, The Sacred Chamber, The church of San Julián de los Prados, the rural church of Santa María de Bendones, together with the Fountain of Foncalada give an idea of the splendour and greatness of the Asturian court during the reigns of Ramiro I and the two great Alfonsos, Alfonso II the Chaste and Alfonso III el Magno (the Great).

Oviedo’s Pre-Romanesque architecture was declared UNESCO World Heritage site on account of its enormous artistic and historical importance.

The Eastern balcony of Ramiro I’s Royal Palace has been made into the representative icon of Asturias, thus symbolizing the window that opens our visitors the paradise the Principality of Asturias is today.