The Route of the Relics

The Route of the Relics is, without a doubt, one of the fascinating historical itineraries that wind their way through the Asturian landscape and collective memory. The Middle Ages were a culturally prolific period in Asturias, and proof of this is the tangible and intangible legacy that has come down to us from that era.

A key figure in the development and transmission of that legacy was an Asturian king named Alfonso II, nicknamed ‘the Chaste’. Chronicles and other sources paint a picture of an intelligent, humble, devout monarch and a skilled strategist – a pivotal figure in the founding of the Way of St James and, at the same time, the architect of Oviedo/Uviéu’s emergence as the capital and seat of the Kingdom of Asturias. A capital which, in those years, grew and established itself as the ‘cornerstone’ of Christianity on an Iberian Peninsula besieged by the Muslims.

Amidst this backdrop of clashing civilisations, Alfonso strategically strengthened his kingdom and the Christian north of Europe by consolidating the Way of St James, in which Oviedo/Uviéu and its court would play a decisive role, a move carefully planned by the monarch, who decided to bring the Holy Ark to the capital of the Kingdom of Asturias, ordering the construction specifically for this purpose of what has since been universally known as the Holy Chamber of the Cathedral in Oviedo/Uviéu, which has been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986.

We can imagine that the Holy Ark endured countless vicissitudes on its journey from Jerusalem to Cartagena, from there to Seville, and from the Sevillian capital to Toledo, and finally from Toledo to Oviedo/Uviéu. A journey that sparks the imagination, which, upon reaching Asturias, becomes the dream of a civilisation’s ‘resilience’, set against the backdrop of the wisdom and faith of a king who placed the Kingdom of Asturias firmly within the rich heritage of European culture.

The Holy Ark enters Asturias via the Camín Real del Puerto Ventana, also known today as the Route of the Relics, passing through the municipality of Quirós, between the legendary mountain ranges of Aramo and Sobia. A route that led swiftly and directly to Oviedo/Uviéu, but the turmoil of war at the time meant that the Ark was placed in safe keeping in the“mountains of Asturias… on top of a mountain known as Monsagro, two leagues from Oviedo/Uviéu”, where it was finally deposited by decision of Alfonso II. Thus Monsagro remained forever in the collective memory as the place that safeguarded one of Christendom’s most precious treasures, and today, twelve centuries later, there it stands, imposing, green and limestone, as if eternally watching over the relics that gave it its name…

Anyone wishing to retrace the journey of that expedition carrying the relics can follow this route, which enters Asturias from León via the Camín Real del Puerto de Ventana, passing through the municipality of Quirós. It is a route of almost forty kilometres and takes around sixteen hours on foot, ending at the chapel of San Antonio in Pedroveya (Quirós).