Hotel de la Reconquista

In 1752, the regent of the audience of the Principality of Asturias, Isidoro Gil de Jaz, proposed to the Crown a Royal Hospice and Hospital for Orphans, Foundlings and Homeless with the purpose of collecting orphans and invalids and give them instruction to develop some work. Construction began on May 11, 1752 with the charity of the Asturians, who contributed 30,730 reales. The building was partially inaugurated on September 7, 1752 and completed in 1777. It served as the Provincial Hospice until 1965. In 1972 it was transformed into the Hotel de la Reconquista and in 1973 it was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest. Since 1980 it has been the venue for the Princess of Asturias Awards jury meetings and decisions.

The building, the work of the architect Pedro Antonio Menéndez, is of baroque style with a vast floor plan and four large floors with interior galleries. The facade has a portico of seven arches from 1754, crowned by a spectacular royal coat of arms. In the center stands the chapel designed by Ventura Rodriguez and built by Manuel Reguera Gonzalez, dedicated to the Virgin of Covadonga, with circular inside and octagonal on the outside, topped by a large dome 28 meters high. The different floors overlook the chapel by means of wide tribunes along almost all its contour. The total extension reaches almost 15,000 m².

The hotel is in the center of Oviedo, a few steps from the Gothic Cathedral of San Salvador with the pre-Romanesque Holy Chamber. The Campoamor Theater, where the Princess of Asturias Awards are presented, is nearby. The old town with its squares, cider houses and the sculpture of La Regenta complete the walk. The pre-Romanesque monuments of Oviedo (Santa María del Naranco, San Miguel de Lillo), a World Heritage Site, are just a few kilometers away.