Oviedo - Casa El Arco Iris

Oviedo was founded on a hill that the Romans called Ovetao. The monks Máximo and Fromestano founded a monastery in 761 on the Roman road here and built a hermitage in honour of the martyr San Vicente. Later, two dozen monks from the Muslim south joined the founders and, according to a document elected Fromestano as their first abbot. They received the protection of Fruela I, who chose the site as a residence for his wife Munia, who gave birth here to their son and later King Alfonso II.

It was also Alfonso II who moved the capital here in 812 and made Oviedo the seat of the bishopric. However, in 912, under García I, Oviedo lost its function as capital to León as part of the reconquest. Alfonso II fortified Oviedo and equipped it with palaces and churches.

During his reign, a tomb attributed to St James the Elder was discovered in Santiago de Compostela in 812. The king travelled from Oviedo to Santiago and is said to have been the first pilgrim to Santiago. He is also said to have opened the first Way of St James, the Camino Primitivo. This Way of St James ensured the economic revitalisation of the city throughout the Middle Ages.

The traditional chocolate shop "El Arco Iris" is permanently closed.