Parador de Cangas de Onís

Tradition attributes to Alfonso I the Catholic (739-757), son-in-law of Pelayo, the foundation of the monastery as a temple and royal pantheon on the palace of his brother-in-law Favila, who died in an incident with a bear during a hunt. There is no material evidence of the pre-Romanesque building. In the 12th century it was transformed into a Benedictine monastery, with the first documented evidence dating from 1137. The Romanesque church preserves the original chevet and walls from the 12th century, although the present church dates from the end of the 18th century. Between 1675 and 1700 the baroque cloister and the tower with belfry were added. With the disentailment of 1835 the monastery was abandoned. It has been a National Monument since 1907. The Parador was inaugurated on July 8, 1998.

The monastery follows the Benedictine scheme of a single nave with three semicircular apses connected by semicircular arches, being one of the masterpieces of the Asturian Romanesque. The southern doorway stands out for its capitals of remarkable workmanship with unusual iconography related to King Favila and the bear. At the foot of the temple are the remains of the primitive 12th century Romanesque cloister, replaced between 1674 and 1694 by the current Baroque-Classicist cloister. The tower with bell tower belongs to the same Baroque period. The refurbishment as a Parador respected these historical elements.

The monastery is on the banks of the river Sella, 4 km from Cangas de Onís and its legendary Roman bridge. The Picos de Europa, the first National Park in Spain declared by Alfonso XIII in 1918, offer the largest limestone formation in Atlantic Europe. Covadonga, cradle of the Reconquest with its basilica and glacial lakes, is nearby. The descent of the Sella is one of the emblematic activities of the area. The Cares route, a spectacular 12 km gorge, is part of the National Park.