Church of St Mary at Mount Naranco (year 848)

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The church of St Mary at Mount Naranco

Roman Catholic Asturian pre-Romanesque Asturian architecture church on the slope of Mount Naranco situated 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from Oviedo, northern 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. 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. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in December 1985.