Suggested walking route

2 stops in walking order

Distance
0.24 km
Walking
3 min
Visits
40 min
Difficulty
Easy stroll
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  1. 1
    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 in Asturias. 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 part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of the Asturias" since 1985. It originally had a basilica ground plan, three aisles with a barrel vaults and probably about five bays long, of which only the "Frankish-style royal 'westwork'" remains, since the building collapsed during the 12th or 13th century. Although narrow, the edifice is quite high due to the outside buttressing.

    ~20 min at this stop

  2. 2
    Santa María del Naranco

    Church

    The church of Saint Mary at Mount Naranco is a pre-Romanesque Asturian building on the slope of Mount Naranco situated 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from Oviedo, northern Spain. 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 structural features, such as the barrel vault—with transverse ribs corresponding one-to-one with contraforts at the exterior, make it a clear precursor of the Romanesque construction. The exterior decorations, as well as the use of stilted arches, mark the intended verticality of the composition. It was declared a Monumento Nacional on 24 January 1885. Along with all other national monuments of Spain, it was classified as a Bien de Interés Cultural in June 1985. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in December 1985.

    ~20 min at this stop