Semana Santa Part 4: Oviedo

I felt like writing another blog post today to try and get a bit more caught up! I’m a little over a month behind on travel blog posts, but I’ve taken so many trips in the last few weeks that I’m worried about forgetting some of these details! So, here we go!

Of all the cities I visited during Semana Santa, Oviedo was the least “touristy”. It has some great architecture and history, but I guess the sights aren’t as much of a draw. However, I really enjoyed my time there! The reason it was on my list was because one of my really good friends from Mizzou studied there a few summers ago. I had also heard a lot about the Pre-Romanesque architecture in the area in some my classes, so I was curious to see those buildings in real life! The “Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of the Asturias” are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. During the time of Moorish/Muslim rule in Spain, the Kingdom of the Asturias remained the only Christian region. A distinct style of art and architecture developed, and many great examples are in Oviedo. Today, Oviedo is the capital city of the region of Asturias.

My bus arrived from Bilbao pretty late, so I went straight to my hostal to go to bed. Yes, “hostal”, not “hostel”. Because Oviedo is less touristy, my housing options were more limited. A hostal is a bit like a cheaper hotel. It was nice because I got my own room and bathroom, but it was more expensive than hostels tend to be. However, after lots of traveling and hostels and sharing a room with total strangers, it was so relaxing to have my own space! The hostal was called “Hotel Alteza” and was on Calle Uría, one of the main streets in the city center of Oviedo.

The next morning, I went to the tourism office to find out the best way to get to the Pre-Romanesque sites. While they are in Oviedo, they’re a bit outside the town and on a mountain, so the best way to get there is to take the bus. Luckily, it was pretty easy, and I was able to ask people along the way to make sure I was heading the right direction.

The first building I saw was Santa María del Naranco. This Catholic church was completed in 848, and has served many purposes over the years. It is considered to be a well-preserved example of Pre-Romanesque architecture. In order to go inside, I had to pay for a short guided tour, but it was worth it! The tour also took us to the nearby San Miguel de Lillo, another church completed in the same year. Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to take photos of the inside, but I found some online! These structures were some of the oldest I had seen, so it was really interesting to see how different they look compared to cathedrals and churches from much later eras. While I was on Mount Naranco, I also got a quick picture (from far away) of the Cristo del Monte Naranco, a statue of Jesus on the mountain’s peak.

I took the bus back to the town and headed straight to the other “main attraction”: the Cathedral of Oviedo. I thought the cathedral itself was very beautiful, but I was disappointed to find out that the area with the Cámara Santa and the Sudarium of Oviedo was closed for renovations. The “holy chamber”, another part of the World Heritage Site, was built as a palace chapel in the 9th century and houses many jewels and relics, including the Shroud of Oviedo, a bloodstained cloth that is claimed to be the cloth wrapped around the head of Jesus after he died. However, the cathedral itself was worth seeing, and I also was surprised to discover that the cathedral has a container that supposedly held some of the water that Jesus turned into wine! So there’s that!

After that, I explored the center and saw lots of beautiful buildings and plazas. (Palacio de Valdecarzana, Plaza de Porlier, Palacio de Campo Sagrado, Casa de los Llanes, Plaza de la Constitución, Iglesia de San Isidoro, the Ayuntamiento de Oviedo, Plaza del Fontan, El Campillin, Parroquia Santo Domingo de Guzmán, Plaza de Trascorrales, Plaza del Paraguas, La Muralla Romana, Calle Gascona, Teatro Campoamor, Plaza de la Escandalera, the Universidad de Oviedo, Paseo de los Álamos, Campo de San Francisco.) I also saw the Fuente de Foncalada and the Iglesia de San Julián de los Prados, also part of the World Heritage Site.

Something I thought was cool about Oviedo was how often I saw sculptures/public art! It added a really cool vibe to the city.

I was also sure to try some of the famous cider that’s popular in the north of Spain. I wasn’t able to get a picture, but I found a video showing how it’s traditionally poured into a glass (very interesting!):

Towards the end of the day, I even saw a Semana Santa procession. It was much smaller than what I saw in Sevilla, but it was still interesting. It was also cool to notice some of the differences between a northern and a southern procession. For example, I loved that people played bagpipes and wore traditional dress in the procession I saw in Oviedo! It wasn’t something I would usually see and think “that’s Spanish”, but it definitely is! That was something fun about going to the north and noticing the diversity of Spanish culture. It isn’t all flamenco and bullfighting! haha.

I went ahead and called it an early night since my bus to Santiago de Compostela the next day was going to leave at 6:30 in the morning! The trip from Oviedo to Santiago de Compostela was the longest time I spent on a bus during the trip (7 hours!), but it was worth it, since Santiago de Compostela was a great place to see at the end of my Semana Santa trip so close to Easter. More on that in the next blog post!