Discover San Pedro de Nora, pre-Romanesque art on the Camín Real de la Mesa

San Pedro de Nora, in the central municipality of Las Regueras, is one of the most representative churches of Pre-Romanesque Art. It stands out for its simplicity and its monumentality at the same time. Its walls are a solid testimony to the spirituality of an era. Its strategic location on the Camín Real de la Mesa (the capital route between Asturias and León since the Romans) meant that it was sought after by the aristocracy and clergy of the time.

The church is located a few kilometres from Oviedo, where the monarch had moved the court of the Kingdom of Asturias. Most studies date the construction of this temple to the time of Alfonso II (9th century), as well as other pre-Romanesque jewels such as San Julián de los Prados or Santa María de Bendones.

In San Pedro de Nora, each stone, each arch, each hollow, builds a story from another time and invites us to look beyond the obvious. On the outside , the church is both slender and robust. The masonry of its walls bears witness to the skill of the ancient stonemasons. Along the perimeter, alternating buttresses rise up like protective arms of this fortress, a reference of pre-Romanesque architecture in Asturias.

Access to the church is through a vestibule and a lintelled door that serves as a threshold to a transcendent world of magnificent symmetries. The soaring ceilings predispose us to the mystical, the cool atmosphere shakes us. The whole interior offers a great sense of depth. Being trapezoid-shaped, the space narrows as we move along its 18 metres in length. The dimensions of San Pedro de Nora are modest, but its proportions are almost perfect.

It has a basilica floor plan with three naves. The central nave is the tallest and widest, separated from the side naves by quadrangular pillars supported by semicircular arches. The chevet of the church is crowned by three adjoining apses, one per nave, illuminated by the evanescent light of three small latticed openings. The largest window in the portico and other openings in the side aisles provide further points of light for soft, natural illumination. A balanced atmosphere that turns every corner into a poem of shapes and shadows.

The temple has always enjoyed an unbeatable location at the confluence of the rivers Nora and Nalón. This area has been populated since Palaeolithic times and has been crossed by the Camín Real de la Mesa, which has connected Asturias with the Castilian plateau since ancient times. It is also very close to the route of the Primitive Way of St. James. A path inaugurated by Alfonso II the Chaste, who became the first pilgrim in history.

In the 9th century it was a rural aristocracy, not the monarch, who promoted its construction to legitimise their authority in this area. Centuries later it would be the clergy who took advantage of its location, controlling the passage of goods at this important crossroads and collecting duties and tithes.

The church has undergone continuous maintenance to ensure its preservation as a historical heritage site. Systems have been implemented to drain water and prevent the accumulation of humidity in its foundations, one of the main problems it faced.

Everything seems to indicate that next to the body of the church there were two double-storey chapels, perhaps rooms or chambers. They could have served as a retreat for ascetics, or to provide occasional shelter for nobles or monarchs. In reality, the original function of this site is not yet fully known.

San Pedro de Nora has not had a peaceful history. In 1905 it suffered a devastating fire and years later it was partially destroyed during the Civil War. The reconstruction was the work of the architect Luis Menéndez Pidal, who in the 1960s took the liberty of erecting a bell tower next to the church. He did so respecting the pre-Romanesque canons, on a site where he argued that there were foundations of an old structure or tower. More recent archaeological studies have not been able to confirm this.

If you are looking for a trip back in time, visit San Pedro de Nora and let yourself be enveloped by its austere beauty. Art and history converge here in such a way that they connect directly with the deepest roots of Asturian culture. And all this in the magnificent natural setting of the river Nora.