Church of St Mary at Mount Naranco (year 848)

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by Raiz
published on 17 December 2018

The church of St Mary at Mount Naranco is a Roman Catholic, Asturian pre-Romanesque church, which lies on the slope of Mount Naranco. It is situated 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from Oviedo, Spain. Ramiro I of Asturias ordered it to be built as a royal palace as part of a larger complex that also incorporated the nearby church of San Miguel de Lillo, 100 meters away. It was completed in 848 CE. 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 converted into a church at the end of the 13th century CE. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in December 1985.