Preromanic - it's kinda a big deal
At least, it is in Oviedo. And when I say pre-romanic, I'm referring to the architectural movement that predated Romanic architecture which predates gothic architecture. Not as in before the Roman Empire.
Anywho, waaaaay back in like 8th and 9th centuries, the king of Spain lived in Oviedo (mostly because of the Arab Islamic conquest that had conquered most of the Iberian Peninsula except for the northern region of Asturias, where Oviedo is located.)
As such, there is still quite a bit of architecture from way back when. One of my first days, Miguel took me up Naranco to see it all.
First up, the castle!
This of course was not the actual palace, it was just a summer home. Since it's up the hill (tiny mountain?) a bit, it's much cooler there. Plus balconies and lots of windows let in the breeeeeeze.
Here are pictures from all angles, most of them feat. yours truly *insert finger peace signs here* Oh, and before you ask, yes, I only have two poses. #reasonswhyImnotamodel
The archways, the columns, the details at the top of each column, the buttresses, they are all hallmarks of the pre-romanic movement. Though two stories, the king would most likely have only stayed on the top floor. The bottom floor would have been servant's quarters/possibly stables. The smell would have been AWFUL, but it also would have been nice and toasty warm since cool days = freezing nights.
A little farther up the mountain, you can find a sweet little church!
I took considerably fewer photos here. but you can still see similar edging and buttresses. As well as roofing tiles, but those are still popular today and possibly part of a restoration. Up until a few decades ago, this church was still in use. Weddings, baptisms, and regular mass were all celebrated here, but it made preservation of murals and such rather difficult. So now it is only for tours.
Let's add a close-up because Look! I learned a third pose!
Also, you get a better view of some of the wear and tear the building has been through. Clearly part of the archway has fallen away, and part of the upper wall has previously fallen, which is why the stones don't match. They were filled in with what was available, not necessarily the same kinds of stone.
At the very top of the mountain, they have a giant statue of Christ!
Unfortunately, it was waaayyyy foggy the day we went to see it, so you can't really make out any of his features. BUT the cross on the pedestal is based off of the cross of Oviedo which has a really cool story that I will share in a future blog post.
You know, I think I only started using the third pose because of the extreme cold.
I definitely want to go back to this statue to take some more photos and to see a birds-eye view of Oviedo. It is said to be one of the best places to look down at the city.
Finally, I used the extreme cold as an excuse to go eat some Churros con Chocolate. It was one of my FAVORITE Spanish treats, but unfortunately these ones were a bit Americanized. *silent sobbing*
But they filled the craving!
Tune in next time for more random (possibly incorrect) history and LOTS more food ;)
Anywho, waaaaay back in like 8th and 9th centuries, the king of Spain lived in Oviedo (mostly because of the Arab Islamic conquest that had conquered most of the Iberian Peninsula except for the northern region of Asturias, where Oviedo is located.)
As such, there is still quite a bit of architecture from way back when. One of my first days, Miguel took me up Naranco to see it all.
First up, the castle!
This of course was not the actual palace, it was just a summer home. Since it's up the hill (tiny mountain?) a bit, it's much cooler there. Plus balconies and lots of windows let in the breeeeeeze.
Here are pictures from all angles, most of them feat. yours truly *insert finger peace signs here* Oh, and before you ask, yes, I only have two poses. #reasonswhyImnotamodel
The archways, the columns, the details at the top of each column, the buttresses, they are all hallmarks of the pre-romanic movement. Though two stories, the king would most likely have only stayed on the top floor. The bottom floor would have been servant's quarters/possibly stables. The smell would have been AWFUL, but it also would have been nice and toasty warm since cool days = freezing nights.
A little farther up the mountain, you can find a sweet little church!
I took considerably fewer photos here. but you can still see similar edging and buttresses. As well as roofing tiles, but those are still popular today and possibly part of a restoration. Up until a few decades ago, this church was still in use. Weddings, baptisms, and regular mass were all celebrated here, but it made preservation of murals and such rather difficult. So now it is only for tours.
Let's add a close-up because Look! I learned a third pose!
Also, you get a better view of some of the wear and tear the building has been through. Clearly part of the archway has fallen away, and part of the upper wall has previously fallen, which is why the stones don't match. They were filled in with what was available, not necessarily the same kinds of stone.
At the very top of the mountain, they have a giant statue of Christ!
Unfortunately, it was waaayyyy foggy the day we went to see it, so you can't really make out any of his features. BUT the cross on the pedestal is based off of the cross of Oviedo which has a really cool story that I will share in a future blog post.
You know, I think I only started using the third pose because of the extreme cold.
I definitely want to go back to this statue to take some more photos and to see a birds-eye view of Oviedo. It is said to be one of the best places to look down at the city.
Finally, I used the extreme cold as an excuse to go eat some Churros con Chocolate. It was one of my FAVORITE Spanish treats, but unfortunately these ones were a bit Americanized. *silent sobbing*
But they filled the craving!
Tune in next time for more random (possibly incorrect) history and LOTS more food ;)
That castle 😍 wow. And nice third pose 😏 I loved reading more of the history!! So crazy something hundreds of years old is still standing, and the church still being used until recently?!! Amazing.
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