Church of Saint John the Baptist of Corias
The long history of the monastery of St. John the Baptist in Corias has gone through three different stages. It was built between 1022 and 1044 as the most important and richest monastery of Benedictines in the whole of western Asturias. Part of its founding endowment came from the old monastery of San Martín de Besullo, founded in the 10th century.
In the 16th century, part of the old Romanesque monastery was demolished and renovated in Renaissance style. Finally, in 1744, after a fire from which only the church, the sacristy and the library were saved, it was rebuilt and extended under the supervision of Ventura Rodríguez, who designed a building of great proportions in neoclassical style that perfectly integrates its old Renaissance church.
The monastery is known as ‘The Escorial of Asturias’ for its imposing appearance and was said to have as many windows as there are days in the year. Its ground plan, a gigantic rectangle of more than seven thousand metres with a central nave and two interior cloisters, its austere façade and its severe air are clearly reminiscent of the Herrerian building. Undoubtedly, Corias is, in its monumentality, one of the most important buildings of the 18th century in Asturias, where its original façade stands out with two outstanding façades giving access to the monastery and the church respectively.
The building, after being disentailed, had different functions as a Dominican novitiate, labour institute and vocational training centre.
In July 2013 it was inaugurated as a Parador Nacional (National Inn). In no Parador, except in Corias, do guests share space with the former tenants. After the adaptation of the building, the Dominican community was relocated inside the monastery and, at present, they are in charge of keeping the adjoining church open for worship. The small community is housed in the spaces adjoining the church, on its east façade.
The Dominicans have been in Corias for more than 150 years. They arrived in 1860 to an empty monastery because its traditional monks, the Benedictines, were exclaustrated after the disentailment of 1836. Corias became an essential reference point for the order since the restoration of the Dominican Province of Spain began here and many of the Dominicans who were trained here went as missionaries to Asia and America. The convent of Corias has had various uses: General Study of the Order until the thirties of the 20th century; Apostolic School of the Province of Spain until 1957 and, from that date onwards, Labour Institute. Since its closure in 1981, the community has served some rural parishes in the council of Cangas del Narcea.
In the basement of the Parador, the remains of the foundational church of the monastery from the 11th century are on display, as well as models and remains found in the excavation, such as a sarcophagus from the period.
The canguese company Green Door Asturias carries out guided tours of the temple of St. John the Baptist, as well as the sacristy and one of the cloisters of the old monastery. You can find out the timetables and prices of these tours at the Cangas del Narcea Tourist Office.
(Text extracted from the Paradores website - www.parador.es/es/paradores/parador-de-corias)



