San Salvador de Priesca, a Legacy of Pre-Romanesque Art in Asturias

When San Salvador de Priesca was granted the status of “National Monument” in 1913, historians referred to the church using terms that are now somewhat obsolete, such as “Hispano-Christian” or “Latin-Byzantine”. It was only gradually that the term“pre-Romanesque art” came to be established to group together works that did not fit into either classical antiquity or the mature Romanesque period. These are works of excellent craftsmanship, rich in symbolism and displaying a refined sense of space, such as the church of San Salvador de Priesca in the municipality of Villaviciosa.

In the early 20th century, the “Oviedo Monuments Commission” remarked that “history had remained silent about this church for centuries”, as it did not appear to be mentioned in wills, documents or chronicles of the period (in fact, it was already mentioned in Ordoño II’s “Testamentum”). At that time, the only facts known with certainty were that it had been designed by a priest named Juan and that it was consecrated in the year 921, as recorded on the inscription of a tombstone. This date proved sufficient to draw a crucial conclusion: the church dated from the period when the court of the Kingdom of Asturias was moved to León, following the death of Alfonso III the Great. Situated in the hamlet of Priesca, just a few kilometres from the town of Villaviciosa, it is therefore a living remnant of the final phase of construction under the Asturian monarchy.

Today, just as in the past, it is an essential stop on the Coastal Way to Santiago (Camino del Norte). The Asturian Way of St James, designated a World Heritage Site in 2015, owes its recognition to churches such as this one, which served as spiritual centres for the entire region, providing rest and shelter to pilgrims for centuries.

According to experts, it drew inspiration from the great works of the era of Alfonso II, reinterpreting them through an austere architectural style suited to the rural setting. The same would be true of other contemporary rural churches such as Santiago de Gobiendes or San Adriano de Tuñón. However, recent studies also argue that the design of San Salvador de Priesca is based on complex mathematical concepts, inherited from classical traditions such as those recorded by Vitruvius. Concepts even more sophisticated than those employed in buildings from earlier periods, leading some to reject the supposed ‘decline’ of later pre-Romanesque architecture.

It has a basilica-style plan. Semicircular arcades separate the central nave from the two side aisles. The three naves terminate in their respective apses. The main apse supports an enclosed and ‘mysterious’ chamber, accessible from the outside only through a mullioned window. This is a distinctive feature of Asturian pre-Romanesque architecture, the purpose of which remains unknown; although it may have served as a reliquary, a treasury chamber or to fulfil structural and symbolic functions. This detail links this church with other churches of its time, such as San Miguel de Lillo and San Salvador de Valdediós. The ornamental splendour of the latter is also echoed in the capitals of the chancel at Priesca, with their rough yet evocative plant motifs: acanthus leaves as sharp as spears and veins resembling fish bones.

Its three chapels are intimate spaces, majestic in their simplicity, from which the clergy maintained a distance from the faithful by means of screens or splendid stone balustrades – one such balustrade can be seen in the Archaeological Museum of Asturias. All that remains of its mural paintings are faded and scattered fragments following the fire in 1936. In the central nave there is an elongated plinth featuring a depiction of a palace with its courtyard rendered in perspective. Another palatial courtyard was painted in the south aisle. Elsewhere, a male figure is depicted in a crude style. The rest of the paintings consist of geometric motifs similar to those preserved at San Julián de los Prados.

The church of San Salvador de Priesca is one of those places that seem to exist outside of time. It is situated in a very peaceful corner of eastern Asturias, a spot never overlooked by those walking in search of the tomb of St James the Apostle. A place of cultural and spiritual interest which, with its quiet grandeur, reminds us that the past is never as far away as it seems.