Information for Oviedo visit, on interesting churches and architecture nearby

[Albertagirl]

I shall be walking the Salvador later in the fall and have vague memories that there are interesting churches and other ancient architecture near Oviedo. If anyone could refer me to threads which discuss this I would be grateful, as I have had no success myself in finding anything, I shall have some extra days to spend in and near Oviedo.

 

[mspath]

Albertagirl,
For Orvieto churches etc. check out this map which I made using info from VNwalking and others in 2020. Nine sites are listed for the Camino Primitivo. After the map loads hit the white box marked LEGEND to see all possibilities. Hit any red marker for details.

Pre-Romanesque via Caminos - Google My Maps

Pre-Romanesque via Caminos

www.google.com

Happy planning and Carpe diem !

 

[peregrina2000]

You probably already know about the cathedral and the Cámara Santa.

Here is the official website to the Naranco sites, which are IMHO, the most spectacular of what Oviedo has to offer. It’s several kilometers up from behind the train station, and there are buses if you don’t want to walk. The two buildings are about a 2 minute walk apart, and there is only one attendant. So while one is open, the other is closed. Getting there right at 9:30 (such a late hour for pilgrims anyway!) means you can see them both before buses start arriving.

San Julian de los Prados is outside of the historic core but well within the city of Oviedo (as its name suggests, it used to be out in the fields, but is now pretty well bounded by roads and buildings. You have to take a guided tour.

Since you will have several days, you’ll have plenty of time just enjoying the casco histórico, the modernist area, even the Calle Gascona where thousands of gallons of sidra are consumed every day. The parks, particularly the Parque de Invierno and San Francisco are lovely. The Parque de Invierno is a bit outside of the center, adjacent to the university, and with just amazing views back to the Picos. San Francisco is the in-town park where peacocks strut and lots of families and children enjoy. Oviedo has one of the richest traditions of public statues — Botero’s mama, a statue of Woody Allen, the locally known “el culo” are all over the center.

I think Oviedo ranks right up there with Zamora, Salamanca, Mérida, Cáceres, and all the other monumental cities the camino passes through. If you like to mix your walking with visiting, this is a great city for a few days of “touring.”

 

[jungleboy]

San Julian de los Prados is outside of the historic core but well within the city of Oviedo (as its name suggests, it used to be out in the fields, but is now pretty well bounded by roads and buildings. You have to take a guided tour.

You do but in my experience it's not really a guided tour, just a visit at an appointed time. Darin and I were the only ones there during our afternoon visit in June and we were able to just wander around by ourselves while the guide/guardian looked on.

For @Albertagirl, there's also Santa Cristina de Lena, a short detour from the Salvador trail a bit past Campomanes (usually the 2nd last day of the Salvador).

 

[El Cascayal]

Oviedo has one of the richest traditions of public statues —

My favorite, Mafalda.

 

[C clearly]

I have tagged this thread with "art/architecture". If you click on that tag at the top under the thread title, you'll get a lot of threads about art and architecture on all Caminos. Perhaps browse through those for nuggets of interest. There are some compiled lists.

If people start new threads that focus on a topic such as this, we can tag them for easier retrieval. When discussions of such topics are buried in a more general thread, we cannot tag so well.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

My favorite, Mafalda.
View attachment 132040View attachment 132040

I had to look her up on Wikipedia. If anyone wants to pay her a visit the article says:

In 2014, a life-sized statue of Mafalda was installed in Campo de San Francisco, a park located in Oviedo, Principality of Asturias' capital (northern Spain), after the Princess of Asturias Awards was conferred to Quino, for the creation of Mafalda, in the category of Communications and Humanities.

 

[El Cascayal]

If anyone wants to pay her a visit

How could anyone not want to pay her a visit?
her!

 

[peregrina2000]

I know that my comment has nothing to do with churches and architecture, but one thing I would most highly recommend in Oviedo, particularly for vegetarians (I don’t think you are vegan, @Albertagirl) would be to get some plates of “quesos artesanales.” Asturian cheese has a tremendous amount of variety and range of tastes, and is by far my favorite place to eat cheese in Spain. Hopefully, you’ll find a few others to share some of these plates, otherwise it may be too much of a good thing! Once I walked into Oviedo on the day of a cheese festival and was able to walk up and down the rows tasting everything my heart desired. I wish I had taken notes!

Siince you do not eat meat, I don’t have to warn you about the cachopo. It’s a lot like the Portuguese francesinha and only for those who really like their melted cheese with layers of pork products beneath.

Sorry to get off track!

Back to the task at hand — Since you have said you will be there for a week, you will have time for the Museo de Bellas Artes. I remember a very nice Sorolla beach painting, a Goya, maybe some El Greco? The building is nice, right smack in the historic center, and never crowded in my experience.

 

[arch]

I shall be walking the Salvador later in the fall and have vague memories that there are interesting churches and other ancient architecture near Oviedo. If anyone could refer me to threads which discuss this I would be grateful, as I have had no success myself in finding anything, I shall have some extra days to spend in and near Oviedo.

High light of our stay in Oviedo.

The Best Cider Bars in Oviedo, Spain

Read our guide to the best cider bars (sidrerías) in the Asturian capital of Oviedo.

theculturetrip.com

 

[Glenshiro]

If you are interested in contemporary Spanish history, the then Lieutenant-Colonel Francisco Franco married Maria del Carmen Polo at the Basílica de San Juan el Real, Calle Dr. Casal, Oviedo, on 22 October 1923. There is nothing in the church to commemorate the occasion, but it is a place where history was made.

 

[peregrina2000]

If you are interested in contemporary Spanish history, the then Lieutenant-Colonel Francisco Franco married Maria del Carmen Polo at the Basílica de San Juan el Real, Calle Dr. Casal, Oviedo, on 22 October 1923. There is nothing in the church to commemorate the occasion, but it is a place where history was made.

How interesting, I knew he was gallego but didn’t know she was born in Oviedo (turns out her dad was a wealthy lawyer). Thanks for that tidbit. I have walked past that church many times (I googled it and recognized the facade, I think it is on one of the pedestrian streets). I never particularly cared for the architecture and have never gone inside. I’m assuming that they got married here because it was her parish church, but I am kind of surprised that they didn’t get married in the cathedral.

Wikipedia has a very fascinating entry for her and discusses her marriage quite a bit and her life both before and after the fascist regime.

 

[Albertagirl]

For @Albertagirl, there's also Santa Cristina de Lena, a short detour from the Salvador trail a bit past Campomanes (usually the 2nd last day of the Salvador).

Thank you. I have marked the church of Santa Cristiana de Lena on my map, to visit on my way into Oviedo on the Salvador.

 

[jungleboy]

Thank you. I have marked the church of Santa Cristiana de Lena on my map, to visit on my way into Oviedo on the Salvador.

It opens at 11am which can be slightly inconvenient. But if Bendueños has reopened by then, it means you can enjoy the albergue’s mountain views in the morning for longer before going to the church.

 

[Albertagirl]

In my research, I have found two references to a significant church called San Tirso. One says that it is some distance outside Oviedo and the other identifies it with the San Tirso which is adjacent to the Cathedral in Oviedo. I wonder if anyone could clarify this for me?

 

[peregrina2000]

In my research, I have found two references to a significant church called San Tirso. One says that it is some distance outside Oviedo and the other identifies it with the San Tirso which is adjacent to the Cathedral in Oviedo. I wonder if anyone could clarify this for me?

I don’t know about the one that’s outside of the city, but the one adjacent to the cathedral has a very pretty typical pre-romanesque Asturian window. I haven’t been inside for years and years but don’t remember it as having much original inside. But with all the time you have, you can certainly check it out!

 

[JerryStroebele]

The Naranco sites are endearingly different and worth your time. Buen Camino

 

[JerryStroebele]

 

[IngridF]

Don't forget to get your Salvadorana. Buen Camino!

 

[Albertagirl]

I have been wondering what the conditions are for getting this certificate. Everything I have read has suggested that pilgrims on the Salvador route just go into the cathedral and are given the certificate. I heard that blank copies of some sort of certificate are available in certain places in Leon. Is this intended to serve as a credencial and be stamped each day? The route from Leon to Oviedo is a little short to get many stamps.

 

[mspath]

I have been wondering what the conditions are for getting this certificate. Everything I have read has suggested that pilgrims on the Salvador route just go into the cathedral and are given the certificate. I heard that blank copies of some sort of certificate are available in certain places in Leon. Is this intended to serve as a credencial and be stamped each day? The route from Leon to Oviedo is a little short to get many stamps.

Albertagirl,
Perhaps this web might help your planning. Buen camino!

Camino del salvador – Asociacion Astur – Leonesa de Amigos del camino de Santiago

 

[Miki Goldie]

In my research, I have found two references to a significant church called San Tirso. One says that it is some distance outside Oviedo and the other identifies it with the San Tirso which is adjacent to the Cathedral in Oviedo. I wonder if anyone could clarify this for me?

La hospederia albergue is so close to the cathedral, and was wonderful

 

[jungleboy]

I have been wondering what the conditions are for getting this certificate. Everything I have read has suggested that pilgrims on the Salvador route just go into the cathedral and are given the certificate. I heard that blank copies of some sort of certificate are available in certain places in Leon. Is this intended to serve as a credencial and be stamped each day? The route from Leon to Oviedo is a little short to get many stamps.

I don't know about the blank certificate but there is a credencial specific to the Salvador that you can get in León. There is only space for 16 stamps so we filled it (2+ per day except for one day when we could only get one stamp) and it was easy to get the certificate at the cathedral ticket office.

 

[Albertagirl]

there is a credencial specific to the Salvador that you can get in León.

Where in Leon can I get it?

 

[El Cascayal]

Where in Leon can I get it?

Albergue de las Carbajalas hours 11-22:30
Albergue de San Francisco 8-midnight.
Mary Louise, Buen Camino!
Aymarah

 

[Damico Walking]

How interesting, I knew he was gallego but didn’t know she was born in Oviedo (turns out her dad was a wealthy lawyer). Thanks for that tidbit. I have walked past that church many times (I googled it and recognized the facade, I think it is on one of the pedestrian streets). I never particularly cared for the architecture and have never gone inside. I’m assuming that they got married here because it was her parish church, but I am kind of surprised that they didn’t get married in the cathedral.

Wikipedia has a very fascinating entry for her and discusses her marriage quite a bit and her life both before and after the fascist regime.

I didn't know that either. We went to Easter Sunday mass there this year. We were in Oviedo for the holy week and to see the sudarium prior to starting our camino. I love Oviedo. Wonderful city, lots to do and see, great people.

 

[Wandershot]

I really enjoyed the modern art museum in Oviedo. It’s right next to the cathedral. It’s not too large and hour or so will do it.

There is so much **old** in Spain, that I like to mix it up with the new for a range of experiences.