The Pre-Romanesque Monuments of Oviedo

During the period from 718 to 910 when the Kingdom of Asturias rose as the leader of the early Christian Reconquest, expanded and then disappeared with the court’s removal to León, a new architectural style emerged. Known as Pre-Romanesque, the style borrowed stylistic cues from earlier cultures and, with a succession of kings and the shelter of the isolated region that spawned it, evolved into a style uniquely Asturian.

The Pre-Romanesque monuments in Asturias can be divided into five major periods, with a highly representative assemblage of these monuments in and around Oviedo. The earliest surviving example is the Iglesia de Santianes in Pravia, built between 774 and 783 after the court had been moved to that town from Cangas de Onís (the earliest Pre-Romanesque structure was located in Cangas, though only sketchy reports remain of it). Already this church displayed features that would become standard in later Pre-Romanesque structures, including an eastern-facing ground plan with a central nave and two side aisles, a semi-circular apse and the floral or Corinthian decorative motifs that no doubt borrowed heavily from earlier Roman monuments.

When the court was relocated once and for all to Oviedo under King Alfonso II (792-842), the style came into its own with the construction of a number of churches and palaces, roughly half of which have survived. The Iglesia de San Julián de los Prados (Santullano), on the outskirts of Oviedo above the autovía to Gijón, formed part of a series of royal buildings that have since disappeared. It is the largest of the Pre-Romanesque churches, with exquisite interior frescoes depicting ropes, plants, curtains, geometrical shapes – each a characteristic of earlier Roman decorations. Other Pre-Romanesque structures built under the reign of King Alfonso II include the Iglesia de Santa María de Bendones and the Iglesia de San Pedro de Nora, both outside the city. The years were not so kind to Alfonso II’s other efforts. His palace and the Iglesia de San Salvador were leveled in the 14th century to make way for the Catedral (save for the holy chamber) and a 16th-century fire destroyed all but the apse wall of the Iglesia de San Tirso in Oviedo next to the Catedral. Still visible is its triple-arch window, a characteristic of the Pre-Romanesque.

King Ramiro I (842-859) succeeded Alfonso II and during his reign the Pre-Romanesque architecture was markedly refined, giving rise to what is known as the Ramirian style. Situated on the rise of Monte Narranco overlooking Oviedo, Santa María del Naranco and San Miguel de Liño (Lillo) represent a forward leap in design. The former, a slender rectangular- shaped building, was the first to incorporate a barrel-vaulted ceiling with transverse arches, which eliminated the need for wood. New decorative touches added to the design, including capitals embellished with cord – a clear Byzantine nod – and the exterior medallions representing a variety of strange animals, a touch characteristic of the Visigoths. The stylistic cues were carried over to San Miguel de Liño, shown at right, which looks rather incomplete because much of its original basilica ground plan fell into rubble during the 13th century. As with the other Pre-Romanesque monuments built before and after, those atop Mount Narranco exhibit the straight lines, vaulted naves and decorative arches that would become standard features of the Romanesque style that followed.