Santa María del Naranco | A Pre-Romanesque jewel in Oviedo

The Palace of Ramiro I, located on the slopes of Mount Naranco, is a unique construction with no clear purpose (palace, church, royal pavilion, royal hall, etc.). The building, with a rectangular ground plan, is divided into two floors, a lower floor or crypt that is totally enclosed and an open-plan upper floor, linked by an external staircase. The construction, made of carefully worked masonry, is raised on a stone plinth to give it a vertical sense that is reinforced by the fluted buttresses that reach the roof.

The lower floor, or crypt, is similar to that of Santa Leocadia, in the Holy Chamber. It is accessed from the outside and is completely vaulted and reinforced with transverse arches. The upper floor is reached from the outside staircase. It is a single room with bay windows on both sides and mullioned windows that simulate another floor on one side. The bay windows are structured in triple arches supported by columns with carved shafts and Corinthian capitals. On the outside, fluted pilasters with crosses hang from the windows and are topped by medallions with animal and human figures. The interior, which is completely vaulted, is covered by sash arches that repeat the exterior decoration of decorated pilasters topped by medallions.

It can be reached on foot along a 150-metre path (from the car park), which can be reached from Oviedo/Uviéu by the Naranco road (towards Ules). Guided tours depart from Santa María del Naranco. Bus line A2 (stop Prerrománico).

Limited capacity. Card payment available.