- Title Tineo Western Asturias
- Address Address: ■ 33874 - Bárzana
- Locality Locality: Bárzana
- Period Period: Romanesque
- Management Management: Ecclesiastical
The monastery of San Miguel is located in Bárzana, just eight kilometres from Tinéu on the Pilgrims' Route to Santiago de Compostela. Its construction was carried out in different periods and from the first stage, the 10th and 11th centuries, only a geminated window and a funerary tombstone are preserved.
The nave of the church, the doorways and the chevet with three apses, the largest of which is in the centre, are from the Romanesque period. The cloister dates from the end of the 18th century and has recently been restored.
The two Romanesque doorways have a rather complex structural design. The one facing west, at the foot of the church, is hidden under a building constructed in a later period, and at the same time it serves as a starting point for the stairs leading to the convent's rooms. It is divided into three flared semicircular arches resting on columns with vegetal capitals. The side doorway is sheltered under the portico that separates it from the cloister and consists of a semicircular arch decorated with prismatic nails.
Inside, the wide nave opens onto the three apses by means of semicircular arches and is separated from the central apse by a triumphal arch with two archivolts. The interior of the chapels was decorated with simple wall paintings. The subject matter is religious, with a wide variety of scenes. In the main chapel, a rather deteriorated painting was discovered with two human figures, an ox and an eagle.
Ask in the village for the keys
Free
Keys: Ask in the village where the priest leaves them.