Asturias

Roman thermae in Gijón

Asturias was inhabited first by Homo erectus then by Neanderthals. Since the Lower Paleolithic era, and during the Upper Paleolithic, Asturias was characterized by cave paintings in the eastern part of the area. In the Mesolithic period, a native culture developed, that of the Asturiense, and later, with the introduction of the Bronze Age, megaliths and tumuli were constructed. In the Iron Age, the territory came under the cultural influence of the Celts; the local Celtic peoples, known as the Astures, were composed of tribes such as the Luggones, the Pesicos, and others, who populated the entire area with castros (fortified hill-towns). Today the Astur Celtic influence persists in place names, such as those of rivers and mountains.

Santa María del Naranco, ancient palace of Asturian Kings, 842 AD. Many churches of Asturias are among the oldest churches of Europe since Early Middle Ages.

With the conquest of Asturias by the Romans under Augustus (29–19 BC), the region entered into recorded history. The Astures were subdued by the Romans, but were never fully conquered. After several centuries without foreign presence, they enjoyed a brief revival during the Germanic invasions of the late 4th century AD, resisting Suebi and Visigoth raids throughout the 5th century AD, ending with the Moorish invasion of Spain. However, as it had been for the Romans and Visigoths, the Moors did not find mountainous territory easy to conquer, and the lands along Spain's northern coast never became part of Islamic Spain. With the beginning of the Moorish conquest in the 8th century, this region became a refuge for Christian nobles, and in 722, a de facto independent kingdom was established, the Regnum Asturorum, which was to become the cradle of the incipient Reconquista (Reconquest).

In the 10th century, the Kingdom of Asturias gave way to the Kingdom of León, and during the Middle Ages the geographic isolation of the territory made historical references scarce. Through the rebellion of Prince Henry (the later Henry II of Castile) in the 14th century, the Principality of Asturias was established. The most famous proponents of independence were Gonzalo Peláez and Queen Urraca, who, while achieving significant victories, were ultimately defeated by Castilian troops. After its integration into the Kingdom of Spain, Asturias provided the Spanish court with high-ranking aristocrats and played an important role in the colonisation of America. Since 1388, the heir to the Castilian (later Spanish) throne has been styled Prince (or Princess) of Asturias. In the 16th century, the population reached 100,000 for the first time, and within another century that number would double due to the arrival of American corn.

Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos

In the 18th century, Asturias was one of the centres of the Spanish Enlightenment. The renowned Galician thinker Benito de Feijóo settled in the Benedictine Monastery of San Vicente de Oviedo. Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, a polymath and prominent reformer and politician of the late 18th century, was born in the seaside town of Gijón.

During the Napoleonic Wars, Asturias was the first Spanish province to rise up against the French following the abdication of King Ferdinand VII on 10 May 1808. Riots began in Oviedo and on 25 May the local government formally declared war on Napoleon with 18,000 men called to arms to resist invasion.[6]

The Industrial Revolution came to Asturias after 1830 with the discovery and systematic exploitation of coal mines and iron factories at the mining basins of Nalón and Caudal. At the same time, there was significant migration to the Americas (especially Argentina, Uruguay, Puerto Rico, Cuba and Mexico); those who succeeded overseas often returned to their native land much wealthier. These entrepreneurs were known collectively as Indianos, for having visited and made their fortunes in the West Indies and beyond. The heritage of these wealthy families can still be seen in Asturias today: the region is dotted with many large modernista villas, as well as cultural institutions such as free schools and public libraries.

Location of Asturias and its neighbors in 800 AD

Asturias played an important part in the events that led up to the Spanish Civil War. In October 1934 Asturian miners and other workers staged an armed uprising (see Revolution of Asturias) to oppose the coming to power of the right-wing CEDA party, which had obtained three ministerial posts in the centralist government of the Second Spanish Republic. For a month, a Popular Front Committee exercised control in southern Asturias, while local workers committees sprang up elsewhere in the region. A war committee dominated by anarcho-syndicalist supporters took power in Oviedo. Troops under the command of a then unknown general named Francisco Franco Bahamonde were brought from Spanish Morocco to suppress the revolt. Franco applied tactics normally reserved for overseas colonies, using troops of the Spanish Legion and Moroccan troops: ferocious oppression followed.

As a result, Asturias remained loyal to the republican government during the Spanish Civil War, and was the scene of an extraordinary defence in extreme terrain, the Battle of El Mazuco. With Franco eventually gaining control of all Spain, Asturias — traditionally linked to the Spanish Crown — was known merely as the "Province of Oviedo" from 1939 until Franco's death in 1975. The province's name was restored fully after the return of democracy to Spain, in 1977. In the 50s and 60s the industrial progress of Asturias continued with the constitution of national enterprises like Ensidesa and Hunosa, but the 80s was the decade of a dramatic industrial restructuring.

On 30 December 1981,[7] Asturias became an autonomous community within the decentralised territorial structure established by the Constitution of 1978. Rafael Luis Fernández Álvarez, who had previously served as the President of the Regional Council since 1978, became the first President of the Principality of Asturias, upon the adoption of autonomy.[7] The Asturian regional government holds comprehensive competencies in important areas such as health, education and protection of the environment. The current president, elected in 2019, is Adrián Barbón (PSOE).

Asturias is organised territorially into 78 municipalities, further subdivided into parishes.

Asturias is also divided into eight comarcas, which are not administrative divisions. They are only used as a system to homogenize the statistical data made by the Principality.

Municipalities of Asturias

Largest cities or towns in Asturias 2020 census[8]
	Rank	Name	Comarca	Pop.	Rank	Name	Comarca	Pop.
Gijón Oviedo	1	Gijón	Gijón	271,717	11	Llanera	Oviedo	13,695	Avilés Siero
	2	Oviedo	Oviedo	219,910	12	Llanes	Oriente	13,473
	3	Avilés	Avilés	77,791	13	Laviana	Nalón	12,882
	4	Siero	Oviedo	51,509	14	Cangas del Narcea	Narcea	12,124
	5	Langreo	Nalón	39,183	15	Valdés	Eo-Navia	11,394
	6	Mieres	Caudal	37,537	16	Lena	Caudal	10,701
	7	Castrillón	Avilés	22,273	17	Aller	Caudal	10,413
	8	San Martín del Rey Aurelio	Nalón	15,817	18	Carreño	Gijón	10,301
	9	Corvera de Asturias	Avilés	15,525	19	Gozón	Avilés	10,282
	10	Villaviciosa	Gijón	14,470	20	Grado	Oviedo	9,703

Picu Urriellu in the Urrieles Massif

Torimbia beach, Llanes

Lakes of Covadonga in Picos de Europa

Llosa de Viango

The Cantabrian Mountains (Cordillera Cantábrica) form Asturias's natural border with the province of León to the south. In the eastern range, the Picos de Europa National Park contains the highest and arguably most spectacular mountains, rising to 2,648 metres (8,688 ft) at the Torrecerredo peak. Other notable features of this predominantly limestone range are the Parque Natural de Redes in the central east, the central Ubiñas south of Oviedo, and the Parque Natural de Somiedo in the west. The Cantabrian mountains offer opportunities for activities such as climbing, walking, skiing and caving, and extend some 200 kilometres (120 mi) in total, as far as Galicia province to the west of Asturias and Cantabria province to the east. Similar opportunities are available for the traveler of Asturias interested in Caldoveiro Peak.

The Asturian coastline is extensive, with hundreds of beaches, coves and natural sea caves. Notable examples include the Playa del Silencio (Beach of Silence) near the fishing village of Cudillero (west of Gijón), as well as the many beaches surrounding the summer resort of Llanes, such as the Barro, Ballota and Torimbia (the latter a predominantly nudist beach). Most of Asturias's beaches are sandy, clean, and bordered by steep cliffs, on top of which it is not unusual to see grazing livestock.

The key features of Asturian geography are its rugged coastal cliffs and the mountainous interior. The climate of Asturias is heavily marked by the Gulf Stream. Falling within the Cantabrian belt known as Green Spain it has high precipitations all year round. Summers are mild and, on the coast, winters also have relatively benign temperatures, rarely including frost. The cold is especially felt in the mountains, where snow is present from October till May. Both rain and snow are regular weather features of Asturian winters. In coastal or near-coastal areas, daytime high temperatures generally average around 12 °C (54 °F) – 13 °C (55 °F) during winter and 22 °C (72 °F) – 23 °C (73 °F) in summer.[9]

This part of Spain is one of the best conserved in the entire country, and full of vegetation and wild spaces. It holds two of the most important natural parks in Spain, and is very renowned for the Picos de Europa and Somiedo areas.

The Gijón area was marked and singled out as one of the pollution hotspots in Western Europe in a 2015 report from the International Institute for Applied Science Systems, where predictions for 2030 conditions were made.[13][14] Gijón was marked much higher than any other Spanish metro area, in spite of the much larger populations in cities such as Madrid and Barcelona. This was attributed to heavy industrial activities. Since outdoor air pollution is a major cause of premature death in Europe,[15] the excessive pollution is a major concern for Asturias. The majority of Asturias population live within a 25 kilometres (16 mi) range from the port of Gijón, so pollution would be likely to heavily affect the population.

A Spanish government study conducted in 2010 regarding life expectancy in relative communities, Asturias was ranked lowest (tied with Andalucia) for male life expectancy with 76.7 years from 2007 readings.[16] However, female life expectancy was 84 years and normal among autonomous communities. However, even the male life expectancy is only just below Western European standards, and exaggerated by the high Spanish life expectancy. Considering that many Asturians live in relatively close proximity to Gijón's heavily industrial areas, these figures (especially for female relative health) still contribute to a position that Gijón is a safe location to live. The numbers for "disability-free" life expectancy has risen significantly both for males and females in the area since 1986, according to the report.[15]

Update: the coal fired electric generating plant, Aboño, completed a Spanish government/EU demand to install equipment to drastically reduce its emissions. Also, the other two major polluters - Arcelor Gijón and Arcelor Avilés - have announced an investment of 100 million euros to do the same. These factories have been a major cause of the area's high airborne pollution.

According to the 2020 census, the region has a population of 1,018,784 which constitutes 2.1% of the population of Spain, with the population density numbering 96 people per square kilometre.

Asturian population has the highest mortality rate in Spain and the lowest total fertility rate (1.03), the lowest in the European Union.[17]

Immigration is not as high as in other Spanish regions as immigrants only represent, according to the 2017 census, 3.65% of population.

Languages

Language map of Asturias

The only official language in Asturias is Spanish. The Asturian language, also known as Bable, is also spoken, and is protected by law (Ley 1/1998, de 23 de marzo, de uso y promoción del bable/asturiano — "Law 1/1998, of 23 March, of Use and Promotion of Bable/Asturian"). It is sometimes used by the Asturian civil service. In the western part of Asturias, Eonavian is also spoken, and its promotion also falls under the responsibility of Law 1/1998. Whether Eonavian is a dialect continuum or a variety of Galician language, however, is a subject of debate, and its use in the Asturian Administration is minor compared to the use of the Asturian language. Within Asturias, there is an ongoing process to establish place names in Asturian and Eonavian dialects.

The organisation and political structure of Asturias is governed by the Statute of Autonomy of the Principality of Asturias, in force since 30 January 1982. According to the Statute, the institutional bodies of the Principality of Asturias are three: the Council of Government, the General Junta and President. The form of government of the Principality is Parliament: The General Junta is the legislature to choose, on behalf of the Asturian people, the President of the Principality of Asturias. The President is also the one of the Council of Government, the head of executive power, and politically answerable to the General Junta.

The functions of the General Junta are the approval of budgets, and the direction and control of the action of the Council of Government. It is composed of 45 deputies, elected for four years through the universal suffrage within a system proportional representation that the allocation of deputies is based on D'Hondt method.

Asturias products treemap, 2020

Asturian sheep on Picos de Europa

El Musel, the Port of Gijón

Centro Niemeyer designed by Oscar Niemeyer

For centuries, the backbone of the Asturian economy was agriculture and fishing. Milk production and its derivatives was also traditional, but its big development was a byproduct of the economic expansion of the late 1960s. Nowadays, products from the dairy cooperative Central Lechera Asturiana are being commercialised all over Spain.

The main regional industry in modern times, however, was coal mining and steel production: in the times of Francisco Franco's dictatorship, it was the centre of Spain's steel industry. The then state-owned ENSIDESA steel company is now part of the privatised Aceralia, now part of the ArcelorMittal Group. The industry created many jobs, which resulted in significant migration from other regions in Spain, mainly Extremadura, Andalusia and Castile and León.

The steel industry is now in decline when measured in terms of number of jobs provided, as is the mining. The reasons for the latter are mainly the high costs of production to extract the coal compared to other regions. Regional economic growth is below the broader Spanish rate, though in recent years growth in service industries has helped reduce Asturias's high rate of unemployment. Large out-of-town retail parks have opened near the region's largest cities (Gijón and Oviedo), whilst the ever-present Spanish construction industry appears to continue to thrive.

Asturias has benefited extensively since 1986 from European Union investment in roads and other essential infrastructure, though there has also been some controversy regarding how these funds are spent, for example, on miners' pensions.

The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the autonomous community was 23.3 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 1.9% of Spanish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 24,400 euros or 81% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 98% of the EU average.[19] This makes the region the 10th richest in Spain, a big decrease from the 1970s/1980s - the heyday of the Spanish mining industry, when Asturias was commonly regarded as one of the most prosperous regions in Southern Europe. Asturias has been growing below the Spanish national average since the decline of the mining industry, and grew just 0.82% in 2008, the lowest of all regions in Spain. On the plus side, unemployment in Asturias is below the average of Spain; it stood at 13.7% in 2017.[20]

Gaita asturiana.

Valgrande-Pajares ski resort

The music of Asturias is varied. The most characteristic instrument in traditional music is the Asturian bagpipe, or Gaita asturiana, which has a single drone, in common with the traditional bagpipes of other Celtic nations such as Wales and Ireland.[29][30] The bagpipe is often accompanied by the hand drum, whistles and accordion.

In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in traditional folk music, and several music ensembles have gained regional and international recognition for their ethnomusicological study and presentation of indigenous Asturian music. Notable examples include traditional pipers such as Xuacu Amieva and Tejedor and fusionist José Ángel Hevia (whose music video[31] provides views of both the gaita and the Asturian landscape), and the groups Llan de Cubel, Xera, Nuberu and Felpeyu.[32][33][34] Additionally, numerous rock, ska and heavy metal groups have also found relative success within Asturias, many of which incorporate elements of traditional Asturian music into their sound.[35]

• Luis Enrique Martínez García, former FC Barcelona captain and manager. he has also been the manager of Spain national football team since July 9, 2018.
• Juan Carreño de Miranda, court painter
• Fernando Alonso, Formula One racing driver, 2005 and 2006 world champion
• Leopoldo Alas "Clarín", 19th-century author of La Regenta, a seminal work in the Spanish literary canon
• Armando Palacio Valdés, 19th and 20th-century novelist and critic
• Francisco Álvarez Cascos, minister in Spain's government 1996–2000 and 2000–2004
• Santi Cazorla, Arsenal and Spain international football player, European Champion 2008 and 2012
• Torcuato Fernández-Miranda, key lawmaker during the Spanish transition to democracy
• Ángel González, major Spanish poet of the 20th century.
• Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, philosopher, politician, Enlightenment thinker
• Pedro Rodríguez de Campomanes, statesman, economist, and Enlightenment writer
• Agustín Argüelles, liberal politician
• Pedro Menéndez de Avilés Spanish explorer and founder of Saint Augustine, Florida
• Gonzalo Méndez de Canço, governor of the Spanish Florida (1596-1603).
• Queen Letizia of Spain, a native of Oviedo and wife of Felipe VI, King of Spain
• Severo Ochoa, 1959 Nobel Prize winner for physiology or medicine
• Rafael del Riego, general and liberal politician
• Carmen Polo, wife of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco
• Chechu Rubiera, cyclist
• Victor Manuel, Spanish singer-songwriter
• José Andrés, chef
• Amalia Ulman, artist
• David Villa, New York City FC and Spain international football star, European Champion 2008, World Champion 2010
• Juan Manuel Mata, Manchester United F.C. player, Spain international football star, World Champion 2010 and European Champion 2012
• Michu, former Swansea City and Rayo Vallecano player
• Xaviel Vilareyo, national poet, writer and musician
• Samuel Sánchez, cyclist, Olympic gold medalist
• Melendi, is a Spanish pop singer-songwriter
• Pablo Carreño, professional tennis player
• Margarita Salas, scientist
• Miguel Díaz-Canel, President of Cuba

• 
  Pelagius, first king of Asturias
• 
  José Andrés, famous chef
• 
  Queen Letizia, current Queen consort of Spain
• 
  Fernando Alonso

• Princess of Asturias Awards
• Asturian Revolution (Asturian History)
• Gijón International Film Festival (Entertainment)
• Avilés International Cinema and Architecture Festival (Entertainment)

• Bowen-Jones, H. and W.B. Fisher. Spain: An Introductory Geography. New York: Praeger, 1966.
• Dresner, Denise, ed. Guide to the World. Phoenix: Oryx Press, 1998. S.v. "Asturias"
• Encyclopedia Americana. Danbury: Grolier, 2002. S.v. "Asturias"
• Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary. Springfield: Merriam-Webster, 1997. S.v. "Asturias"

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Asturias.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Asturias.

• Official website
• Official Asturias cartography
• Gallery of orthophotomaps of Asturias (2010), at Wikimedia Commons
• Official Tourism website of Asturias