Asturian Pre-Romanesque: The Architecture of a Kingdom in Hiding
Asturias, Spain
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Santa María del Naranco
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275
XP
+100 Spain
= 375 total
1 day
Asturian Pre-Romanesque: The Architecture of a Kingdom in Hiding
275 + 100 XP
Between 711 and 910 the kingdom of Asturias was the only Christian state left in Iberia, pinned against the Cantabrian mountains, and it produced an architecture found nowhere else — Asturian pre-Romanesque, which took Visigothic, Mozarabic and local traditions and made something with its own personality and a startling level of refinement. Santa María del Naranco above Oviedo was built by Ramiro I as a recreational palace, finished in 842 and consecrated as a church in 848. Its barrel vault with transverse ribs answering buttresses outside is a clear precursor of Romanesque. UNESCO listed it in December 1985.
Required Activities
1
of 5
Go into Santa María del Naranco and find the barrel vault with transverse ribs matched one-to-one by buttresses outside — Romanesque construction, decades early
2
of 5
Work out what it actually was: a royal pleasure palace of Ramiro I completed in 842, only consecrated as a church in 848
3
of 5
Walk the hundred metres to San Miguel de Lillo, the other half of the same royal complex
4
of 5
Go down into Oviedo and find the Cámara Santa in the cathedral, which holds the Cross of the Angels and the Victory Cross
5
of 5
Work out the political story: the court moved from Cangas de Onís to Pravia to Oviedo, and the buildings moved with it
Go into Santa María del Naranco and find the barrel vault with transverse ribs matched one-to-one by buttresses outside — Romanesque construction, decades early
Work out what it actually was: a royal pleasure palace of Ramiro I completed in 842, only consecrated as a church in 848
Walk the hundred metres to San Miguel de Lillo, the other half of the same royal complex
Go down into Oviedo and find the Cámara Santa in the cathedral, which holds the Cross of the Angels and the Victory Cross
Work out the political story: the court moved from Cangas de Onís to Pravia to Oviedo, and the buildings moved with it
Before you go
Both Naranco churches are visited on a guided tour with limited numbers — check times before going up.
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About Asturias
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
275 XP
Spain country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
375 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in Spain.
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