San Julián de los Prados (Santullano)

Built between 812 and 842 under Alfonso II the Chaste, at the start of Santullano park, beside the road out towards Gijón. It is the largest pre-Romanesque church in Asturias and one of the oldest, and inside it keeps 9th-century wall paintings with painted architecture. You can walk there from the centre in about 20 minutes via El Milán.

What you will see

Turismo Asturias describes it as one of the most remarkable medieval works in Europe. It has been a World Heritage Site since 1998 and is dedicated to the saints Julian and Basilissa. It has a basilica plan, with a wide, bright nave, rare in a medieval building, and a transept higher than the nave, where the royal gallery stood. A window of more than four metres lets the light in. The Corinthian capitals of the main chapel are probably Visigothic in origin.

The most striking thing is the paintings. They cover walls and vaults in blue, yellow and red, and have no human or divine figures: they are geometric friezes, plant motifs, palaces and hangings that allude to the heavenly Jerusalem of the Apocalypse. At the top appears the cross of the Anastasis, a symbol of royal power. They were painted in fresco, marking lines with cords soaked in pigment and circles with a compass. Turismo de Oviedo considers it the largest surviving wall decoration of the early Middle Ages in Europe.

Opening hours and admission

The visit is guided, in sessions. According to Turismo Asturias:

• 1 October to 30 April: Monday to Saturday, sessions at 10:00, 10:45 and 11:30.
• 1 May to 30 June: Monday, at 10:00, 10:45 and 11:30; Tuesday to Saturday, also at 12:15, 16:00 and 16:45.
• 1 July to 30 September: Monday, four sessions between 10:00 and 12:15; Tuesday to Friday, eight sessions between 9:30 and 17:30; Saturdays, seven.
• Closed Sundays and public holidays, and on 8 and 21 September.

Admission costs €4 per adult and €1 for ages 7 to 12; groups, by prior appointment, €3 per person. The first Monday of each month is free in the morning, without a guide. Bookings are made by email at [email protected]; Turismo Asturias gives the phone number 687 052 826 and Turismo de Oviedo, 607 353 999. Times change by season: confirm them before you go.

Getting there

It is at calle Selgas, 2, beside the El Milán campus. From the centre you walk there in about 20 minutes; Turismo de Oviedo suggests a walking route that starts from the Foncalada fountain. The motorway passes very close by, and works funded by the EU are under way to reduce its impact. The visit lasts about 40 minutes.

Complete the day with the rest of the pre-Romanesque: Santa María del Naranco and San Miguel de Lillo, on the hill, and the Cámara Santa of the cathedral.