| Location |
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Oviedo, capital of the Principality of Asturias, is located in its central zone and counts at the present time with more of 218,000 inhabitants. Its climate is tempered, with warm winters and fresh summers. The annual average temperature is over 13ºC and the meteorological phenomena are rarely extreme.
Oviedo’s communications allow to arrive from most Spanish and European main cities in fast and comfortable displacements. The Silver and Cantabrian freeways connect the city with the layout of the international network.
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On the other hand, “Ranón” airport, 35 minutes from Oviedo, offers regular flights with Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Palma de Mallorca, Brussels, Paris and London, among other destinations, opening the doors of the Congress Hall-Auditorium “Príncipe Felipe” to the four cardinal points of the Peninsula and the Continent.
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| History |
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Oviedo, the capital city of the Principality, combines an ancient history of over twelve centuries with the vitality and drive of the 21st century.
Oviedo is said to have been founded by two monks, Máximo and Fromestanus, in 761, and initially developed between the 8th and 9th centuries under the Asturian monarchs Fruela and Alfonso II. However, its privileged location in the centre of the region, with many mountains and hills surrounding it, made this land attractive five centuries before our era to pre-Roman settlers and, subsequently, to Romanised settlers, as can be seen in the "castros" (fortified settlements) such as Llagú.
The capital city of the kingdom in the times when the Asturian monarchs wanted to make of it the new Toledo, then conquered by the Christian monarchs, Oviedo has witnessed the main historic events of the last millennium, as can be seen in its streets. The city has been worthy of being declared World Heritage by UNESCO and gathers five of the main treasures of Pre-Romanesque art: the churchs of Santa María del Naranco, San Miguel de Lillo and San Julián de los Prados, the Cámara Santa and the Foncalada fountain.
Pilgrimages, wars and revolutions have taken place in a city that now, with its 218,000 inhabitants, faces the challenge of globalisation with a significant cultural baggage and widespread progress in terms of urban planning, equipments and facilities built over the past seven years as the main assets of its decided commitment to both present and future.
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| Climate |
| The climate is temperate, with mild winters and cool summers. The average annual temperature exceeds 13 ºC and extreme weather events are infrequent. |
| Gastronomy |
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Oviedo, like any self-respecting capital, is a cosmopolitan city that has managed to combine different, new cooking styles, without forgetting its roots in Asturias.
Classic cooking restaurants, cider houses, eateries, wine bars, delicatessen, tapas, etc, among many others, form a part of its varied cuisine.
Oviedo, located in the centre of the Principality, picks the best products of the land, the coast and the mountains of Asturias, which, in expert hands, become true works of culinary art. The best fish, vegetables, meat, or cheese meet at the tables of the many fine restaurants or small, modest bars of Oviedo to the delight of guests.
Traditional gastronomic festivals such as Ascension and Disarmament, are summed up to some special days annually when cuisine is the main protagonist.
Modern kitchen, creative, Asturian and fusion cooking combined with traditional dishes like pot Oviedo Antroxu, chickpeas with cod and spinach, meat governance, mixed vegetables and sweets as the Carbayón, have a well-deserved reputation. Finally, we should not forget cider, the regional drink par excellence, that can be tasted in an enjoyable athmosphere in places as warm and lively as the "Boulevard of cider”. |
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