The church of Saint Mary at Mount Naranco (; ) is a
pre-Romanesque Asturian building on the slope of
Mount Naranco situated from
Oviedo
Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains th ...
, northern
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 ...
.
Ramiro I of Asturias ordered it to be built as a royal palace, part of a larger complex that also incorporated the nearby
church of San Miguel de Lillo, 100 meters away. The palace was completed in 842 and had in part a religious function, being
consecrated
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...
in 848. Its structural features, such as the barrel vault—with transverse ribs corresponding one-to-one with contraforts at the exterior, make it a clear precursor of the Romanesque construction. The exterior decorations, as well as the use of
stilted arches, mark the intended verticality of the composition.
It was declared a ''
Monumento Nacional'' on 24 January 1885. Along with all other national monuments of Spain, it was classified as a ''
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 ...
'' in June 1985. It was declared a
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
in December 1985.
History
Built as a recreational palace, it is situated on the southern side of
Mount Naranco facing the city, and was originally part of a series of royal buildings located in the outskirts. Its character as a civil building changed in the 12th century when it was converted into a church dedicated to
St. Mary
Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
. The Palace of Santa María del Naranco, involved a significant stylistic, morphological, constructive and decorative renovation of Pre-Romanesque, supplementing it with new, innovative resources, representing a leap forward with respect to immediately previous periods.
On its altar, a Latin inscription provides the date of consecration:'.
This palace's innovations amazed chroniclers, who mention it repeatedly. The
Crónica Silense, written around the year 1015, about 300 years after the construction of the palace, said that
Ramiro I of Asturias "built many constructions, two miles away from Oviedo, with sandstone and marble in a vaulted work: (...) He also made (...), a palace without wood, of admirable construction and vaulted below and above,..."
The chroniclers marvelled at its proportions and slender shapes, its rich, varied decoration and the introduction of elongated barrel vaults thanks to the
transverse arches, allowing support and eliminating wooden ceilings. This solution, timidly advanced in the Camara Santa () of the
Cathedral of San Salvador of Oviedo, fully matured in Santa María del Naranco.
The palace, on a rectangular ground plan, has two floors. The lower level, or
crypt
A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...
, quite low, has a central chamber and another two located on either side. The upper floor is accessed via a double exterior stairway adjoining the facade, leading into an identical layout as the lower floor; a central or noble hall with six blind semicircular arches along the walls, supported by columns built into the wall, and a mirador at each end. These are accessed via three arches, similar to those onto the wall, resting on columns with helicoidal rope moulding, typical of Pre-Romanesque. The barrel vault is made from
tufa
Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitation (chemistry), precipitate out of water in ambient temperature, unheated rivers or lakes. hot spring, Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar (but less ...
stone, and is held up by six transverse arches resting on consoles.
Santa María del Naranco represented a step forward from a decorative point of view by enriching the habitual standards and models with elements from painting, gold work and the textile arts. The rich decoration is concentrated in the hall and miradors of the upper floor, where it is especially worth noting the cubic-prismatic capitals (of
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
influence), decorated with reliefs framed by
cord decoration (from local tradition) in trapezoid and triangular shapes, inside which there are sculpted forms of animals and humans. This kind of motif is repeated on the disks with central medallions located above the blind arches' intersections. The 32 medallions distributed around the building are similar in size and shape, varying the decorative designs and the interior figures (quadrupeds, birds, bunches of grapes, fantastic animals), a style inherited from the Visigoth period, in turn descended from Byzantine tradition.
The medallions have decorative bands above them, again framed by rope moulding, inside which four figures are sculpted and arranged symmetrically; the upper two carrying loads on their heads and the lower two representing soldiers on horseback carrying swords. These figures seem to have some kind of symbolic social meaning; the warriors who defend and support the men of prayer, or alternatively, the royal and ecclesiastic orders complementing each other.
Santa María del Naranco shows other, equally beautiful and important sculptural elements; for the first time, a
Greek cross
The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Jesus, Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...
appears sculpted as emblem of the Asturian monarchy, at the same time protecting the building from all evil, something which was to become habitual in the popular architecture of towns and villages. Other sculptural elements, such as the capitals of
Corinthian inspiration on the miradors' triple-arched Windows or the altar stone in the eastern mirador (originally from the neighbouring
Church of San Miguel de Lillo), make this palace the most distinctive building in Pre-Romanesque, a singularity highlighted by being the only palace complex that has lasted until the present day with both
Visigothic
The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied barbarian military group united under the comman ...
and
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...
court structures.
Building
The church of St Mary at Mount Naranco is unlike any contemporary example we are acquainted with. Practically it is a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
tetrastyle amphiprostyle temple,
if such terms can be applied to a Christian edifice. So far as we can understand, the altar was placed originally in one of the porticos, and the worship was consequently probably external. The great difference seems to have been that there was a lateral entrance, and some of the communicants at least must have been accommodated in the interior. The ornamentation of the interior differs from classical models more than the plan. The columns are spirally
fluted — a classical form — but the capitals are angular, and made to support arches. On the walls also there are curious medallions from which the vaulting-ribs spring, which seem peculiar to the style, since they are found repeated in the church of
Santa Cristina de Lena.
Gallery
File:Santa María del Naranco 2021, lar.jpg, East facade with belvedere
File:Naranco, Iglesia Santa Maria-PM 34653.jpg, North facade
File:Iglesia de Santa María del Naranco (2478756740).jpg, South facade
File:Naranco, Iglesia Santa Maria-PM 34659.jpg, West facade
File:Naranco, Iglesia Santa Maria-PM 34676.jpg, Staircase
File:Santa . Maria del Naranco.jpg, Postcard view
File:Planta de Santa María del Naranco vectorized.svg, Floor plan of the church
File:Iglesia de Santa María del Naranco (2477946241).jpg, Capital detail
File:706 Santa María del Naranco (Oviedo), nau del pis inferior.jpg, Interior view of the lower floor
File:Santa Maria del Naranco-8.JPG, Interior
File:Sta Maria del Naranco, Oviedo, Asturias 04.jpg, Main hall
File:Oviedo - Santa Maria del Naranco 18.JPG, Detail of a window
See also
*
Asturian art
Pre-Romanesque architecture in Asturias is framed between the years 711 and 910, the period of the creation and expansion of the kingdom of Asturias.
History
In the 5th century, the Goths, a Christianized tribe of Eastern Germanic origin, arrive ...
*
Catholic Church in Spain
The Spanish Catholic Church, or Catholic Church in Spain, is part of the Catholic Church under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Holy See, Rome, and the Spanish Episcopal Conference.
The Spanish Constitution of 1978 establishes the non- ...
Notes
References
;Citations
;Bibliography
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External links
*
*
Santa María del Naranco at the
Spanish Wikipedia
The Spanish Wikipedia () is the Spanish-language edition of Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia. It has articles. Started in May 2001, it reached 100,000 articles on 8 March 2006, and 1,000,000 articles on 16 May 2013. It is the -largest Wikip ...
Official page of Santa María del Naranco and San Miguel de Lillo3D Model of Santa María del Naranco3D model on Google Earth
A photo essay about the Santa María del Naranco
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Maria del Naranco
9th-century churches in Spain
World Heritage Sites in Spain
Maria del Naranco
Medieval Spanish architecture
Pre-Romanesque architecture in Asturias
Buildings and structures in Oviedo
Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in Asturias
9th-century establishments in Spain
848 establishments
Religious buildings and structures completed in the 840s