San Tirso el Real, a church with Pre-Romanesque roots in Oviedo

On arriving at the Cathedral square in Oviedo/Uviéu, the visitor cannot fail to raise his eyes to its tower, it is like a powerful magnet. But to its right, more discreet, much less haughty but just as illustrious, is the church of San Tirso el Real. "Real" is not just a courtly wink, but a reminder of its foundation by Alfonso II in the 9th century, when the Asturian capital was still a city project.

This church is just one more stone in the exceptional mosaic that is the Pre-Romanesque Art of Asturias, although like no other it holds the deepest secrets of the first kings of Asturias. It formed part of the palace complex that included the Basilica of San Salvador and the Holy Chamber, and was the first oratory reserved for royalty. This was where God and the King met without the need for an audience and all other humans tiptoed in.

Over the centuries, the church was reinvented with successive alterations. After the fire of 1521, it was rebuilt several times until the 20th century, leaving behind a melting pot of styles. The church initially had a basilica plan with three naves separated by stone pillars. The naves are still preserved today, but with Gothic and Baroque additions. The central nave is covered with a barrel vault, the side naves with pointed and semicircular arches. The main altarpiece carved by José Bernardo de la Meana is also preserved from the Baroque period. The Virgin ascends to heaven flanked by an aerial court of angels, while a Pietà observes the human drama from its pedestal. Saint Tirso, meanwhile, sculpted with restraint and nobility by Antonio Borja, presides over his own church as a gentleman who does not wish to disturb but who commands respect. In the chapel of Santa Ana, on the south flank, the Gothic ribbed vault is supported by corbels decorated with coats of arms raised by angels.

And it is revealing that under the altarpiece of Christ, as recently as 2005, a painting was discovered that was sleeping the sleep of the just behind a layer of marble oil paint. An imaginary Jerusalem (possibly from the 18th century), two and a half metres high, inspired by other religious monuments in Oviedo/Uviéu.

San Tirso el Real is much more than a church attached to the cathedral. It is a fundamental piece of the historical and artistic jigsaw of the Principality. All its elements form a compendium of the evolution of religious art, from the foundational Pre-Romanesque to the popular Baroque, passing through the reformist Gothic. Of the first temple founded by Alfonso II the Chaste, only the lower part of the tower and the chevet of the main apse remain. The most notable example of its original construction is a triforate window with brick arches and marble columns with Roman capitals, which can be seen from the outside of the church. Above it, two perforated stones reveal the old system used to close this window, and above it, an old moulding still traces the original gabled roof. This is, without doubt, a major piece of Asturian Pre-Romanesque Art. It is one of the few original remains preserved in situ of the religious architecture of the period, capable of conveying the idea that, in another time, building a church was more than just erecting a building. It was about creating a different world, with its own rules and in a different light.

San Tirso el Real cannot compete in spectacularity with other contemporary works: Santa María del Naranco, San Miguel de Lillo, or Santullano, but it offers one of the oldest and most relevant testimonies of the period. Its role as a foundational node of this architecture makes it a must-see.

The pre-Romanesque façade can be seen from the outside, and it is a good idea to enjoy the church façade at night, as the exterior lighting makes the stained glass windows glow in a very captivating way.

Once we are in this place, the possibilities for extending our cultural journey are considerable. A few metres away we can access the Cathedral of El Salvador and its Holy Chamber, the Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias, or the Archaeological Museum of Asturias, also located nearby. This latter centre, among many other attractions, has a permanent exhibition dedicated to Pre-Romanesque Art, with well-preserved original remains of capitals and columns, lattices and gates, altars, bases, corbels, sculptures and a good number of relics from this period.

A visit to San Tirso is always a good idea to whet our cultural appetite for the serene and enigmatic world of Asturian pre-Romanesque art.