On this same site in 761, the abbots Máximo and Fromistano founded the first building in the city, a monastery dedicated to St Vincent, following the Rule of St Benedict. In the 18th century, the monastery was to enjoy great economic splendour and intellectual renown due to the presence of Father Feijóo, who served as abbot. In the 19th century, the cloister and other buildings were given over to housing the Archaeological Museum of Asturias.
The four sides of the ground floor of the cloister open onto the garden via semi-circular arches with mouldings covered with ribbed vaults of great beauty, which are more complex in the corner posts. The upper gallery rests on columns with block capitals and stone cladding. The number of arches is duplicated on the top floor, while being smaller in size.
The church of the old monastery is now the Church of Santa María la Real de la Corte, situated between the Archaeological Museum and the Monastery of San Pelayo. It was designed in the mid-16th century by Juan de Cerecedo, The Elder, as a single nave church. The barrel-vaulted nave is perforated by side chapels located between the buttresses, while the transept is divided into three sections and is covered with a sail vault. The entrance to the church is situated below a large arch enclosed by wooden Baroque railings which leads to a portico.
The transept contains the tomb of Benedictine Father Feijóo, for many years abbot of the Monastery of San Vicente, who died in 1764. The old monastic garden was located at the east end of the church, nowadays Plaza Feijóo, with the statue of the scholar in a pensive pose.
