For me, the Visigoths were a short lived episode of late antiquity, an afterthought of the Roman Empire that faded away quickly. In reality, they ruled Spain for 250 years, before being swept away by the Muslim conquests. Almost swept away, I have to write, as Asturia, a mountainous region in Northern Spain remained independent under a Visigoth ruler, Pelayo.

There are different versions of what happened and the circumstances thereof. In the myth, he rebelled, there was a battle against the Arab overlords and he won. Or he simply didn't lose. Looking at the territory of Northern Spain, I think the mounted Arabs had a hard time. The mountains and hills don't seem to be suited for a cavalry based army, but great for guerrilla warfare.

Pelayo's small kingdom would form the nucleus for the kingdom of Asturias, which would grow over the centuries, eventually to form Spain via union with Castille. To this day the king of Spain claims descendance from this local Visigoth noble.

The buildings included in the site date from the 9th century. By then, the kingdom was firmly established and the Muslim onslaught stopped. They are small in size compared to what came before (Romans) or comes later (high middle ages), but comparable to what you see in the Carolingian empire.

I managed to see four components:

• Church of Santa María del Naranco (a former palace).
• Church of San Miguel de Lillo
• The Cámara Santa
• La Foncalada

As already pointed out in the site description, Santa Maria del Naranco was not originally a church, but a palace or, more appropriately, summer home. The stone works inside are impressive. The views you get of the valley are nice and you can easily imagine having a barbeque on the porch. The building is black on the Northern side and on parts of the Southern side, the rest is white. I was wondering if the restoration had skipped these parts. The guide explained that it wasn't coal residue, but the heavy local rains that created the colour, so there was nothing to clean up.

We then went to nearby San Miguel de Lillo. The church reminded me of the Lombards in Italy. It's not a big church and quite simple. Not all pieces are original, but substantial portions are. Ask the guide to show you.

In Oviedo proper, there are several sites. In the cathedral, you have a small section that is contained: the Camara Santa. All the while the whole cathedral being included as a component of the Camino. In addition, there is a fountain in town. Nice and interesting, but not WHS material on it's own.

Getting There

The principal sites are in and around Oviedo. Oviedo has bus and train connections to all parts of Spain.

The principal components (Santa María del Naranco, San Miguel de Lillo) are located on a hill overlooking the city. There are hourly local buses or you can walk as I did. To visit you need to join a tour. The tour starts at Santa María del Naranco and that's where tickets are sold.

In the town proper, you have a part of cathedral and the fountain. But they pale in comparison.