The Basílica de Santa María la Real de Covadonga(English: Basilica of Holy Mary, the Queen of Covadonga) is a

Catholic church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

located in Covadonga/Cuadonga, Cangas de Onís/Cangues d'Onís,

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, that was designated as a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

on September 11, 1901. The temple was designed by the German architect Roberto Frassinelli and built between 1877 and 1901 by architect Federico Aparici y Soriano. It is a

Neo-Romanesque Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

church made entirely of pink

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

History

In 1777 a fire destroyed the old temple, which stood adjacent to the Holy Cave where

Our Lady of Covadonga Our Lady of Covadonga () also named "La ''Santina''" is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the name of a Marian shrine devoted to her at Covadonga, Asturias. The shrine in northwestern Spain rose to prominence following the Battle of Covadonga ...

is revered. It was then decided to raise a new church as a monumental sanctuary, raising donations from all of Spain; the plan was opposed by the local council, as the canons wanted to rebuild the temple of the Holy Cave and build an ambitious sanctuary that had once been designed by

Ventura Rodríguez Ventura Rodríguez Tizón (July 14, 1717 – September 26, 1785) was a Spanish architect and artist. Born at Ciempozuelos, Rodríguez was the son of a bricklayer. In 1727, he collaborated with his father in the work at the Royal Palace of Ar ...

, but never completed. One century later, the project was resumed by

Alfonso XII Alfonso XII (Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo de Borbón y Borbón; 28 November 185725 November 1885), also known as ''El Pacificador'' (Spanish: the Peacemaker), was King of Spain from 29 D ...

King of Spain The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...

who was interested in completing this work. The classic design of

was very difficult and expensive and was replaced by a new neo-Medieval design. This new project was devised by Roberto Frassinelli, known as ''The German of Corao'', who was more an artist than architect, and was replaced by Federico Aparici y Soriano, who studied at the

Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (RABASF; ), located on the Calle de Alcalá in the centre of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery. A public law corporation, it is integrated together with other Spanish royal acad ...

. Despite this decision, Frassinelli could direct the works.

Esplanade

*''La Campanona'' (''The Big Bell''), a three-meter bell built in 1900 at

La Felguera La Felguera is a parish of Langreo, and the most important district in the municipality of Langreo ( Principality of Asturias) in northern Spain, with 21,000 inhabitants. It is located 18 minutes by car to Oviedo, the capital of Asturias. La Fel ...

. It weighs 4,000 kg and was donated by Italian count Sizzo-Noris. *''Bronze statue of

Pelagius Pelagius (; c. 354–418) was a British (Celtic Britons, Brittonic) theologian known for promoting a system of doctrines (termed Pelagianism by his opponents) which emphasized human choice in salvation and denied original sin. Pelagius was accus ...

'', made in 1964 by Eduardo Zaragoza. *The ''Obelisk'' with the

Victory Cross The Victory Cross ( Asturian and Spanish: ''Cruz de la Victoria'') is an early 10th-century Asturian jewelled cross ('' crux gemmata'') gifted by King Alfonso III of Asturias, who reigned from 866 to 910, to the Cathedral of San Salvador in ...

, built in 1857 by Philippe d'Orléans,

Duke of Montpensier The French fief, lordship of Montpensier (named after the village of Montpensier, Puy-de-Dôme, Montpensier, département in France, département of Puy-de-Dôme), located in historical Auvergne (province), Auvergne, became a countship in the 14 ...

. According to tradition, it was the place where Pelagius was crowned as the first King of Asturies. *''San Pedro Monastery'', declared

Bien de Interés Cultural (, , , ) is a category of the heritage register in Spain. The term is also used in Colombia and other Spanish-speaking countries. The term literally means a "good of cultural interest" ("goods" in the economic sense). It includes not only mater ...

, founded by

Alfonso I of Asturias Alfonso I of Asturias, called the Catholic (''el Católico''), ( – 757) was the third king of Asturias, reigning from 739 to his death in 757. His reign saw an extension of the Christian domain of Asturias, reconquering Galicia and León. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basilica de Santa Maria la Real de Covadonga Churches in Asturias 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain Roman Catholic churches completed in 1901 Basilica churches in Spain

History

Esplanade

See also

References