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Basilica of Santa María la Real de Covadonga

Cangas de Onís, Oriente, Asturias

1 Villages · 5 Monuments · 3 Nature

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Basilica of Santa María la Real de Covadonga

Monument · Cangas de Onís, Oriente, Asturias

A neo-Romanesque temple built entirely of pink limestone between 1877 and 1901, designed by Roberto Frassinelli and carried out by the architect Federico Aparici y Soriano; it received the title of minor basilica on 11 September 1901. It replaced the original yew-wood church that King Alfonso I had built in the cave in the year 740, destroyed by a fire in 1777 along with everything the Santa Cueva held. Frassinelli, known as the German of Corao, conceived the new temple, but not being an architect he handed the project over to Aparici, although he directed the work on the crypt. The building, with three naves, the central one higher, and three stepped apses, stands out for the slender spires of its towers and for the pinkish tone of the stone, which contrasts with the green of the landscape.

Photo: Zarateman (CC0)

What to see and do in Cangas de Onís