Spain's first-ever capital...and how Mel Gibson and the Virgin Mary fit in

EVERYONE knows, or should do by now, that Spain's capital is Madrid, even if they didn't realise it was the second-largest in population in the EU – after Berlin, in terms of the city proper, and after Paris in terms of the complete metropolitan area – or that it was the continent's second-highest altitude capital at 657 metres, after Andorra la Vella (1,023).

Anything else you didn't know about Madrid you can find in our intriguing (though we say it ourselves) article on quirky facts about Spain's capital.

But even though Madrid was an inhabited settlement from around the year 852 CE (AD) and was founded as a town by King Alfonso VIII in 1202 – a status that has never changed, so it's still a town rather than a city – it has only been Spain's capital since the mid-16th century, and even that was by mistake.

King Felipe II sought the help of wise men to locate the dead centre of mainland Spain for him to build his Imperial Court on, and they worked this out to be in what is now the heart of Madrid – but their calculations were too far to the north. The exact centre of the country remains under dispute, but the three towns which claim to be right on top of it are all south of the capital.

Which means that before around 1561, Spain must have had another capital – right?

Notwithstanding the fact that the nation has been split, across history, into different Kingdoms, with their own capitals, or Emirates during the Moorish reign, with capitals or strongholds of each of these sovereign territories, the country as a whole has had different capitals throughout time.

And as is usually the case, they're not where you think they might be.

Mel Gibson is fascinated by this guy

“I've always been intrigued about the figure of Don Pelayo,” admitted Braveheart actor Mel Gibson, now 66, when interviewed by a daily newspaper covering the northern coastal region of Asturias, La Nueva España, in January 2019.

He was on holiday there at the time with his family, and turned out to have more extensive knowledge of the man referred to in the Anglophone world as Pelagius of Asturias, the first-known monarch of the Kingdom of the same name, than even the average Spaniard.

Pelagius, or Don Pelayo, is widely thought to have been the one to have stirred up the unrest that led to the indigenous Christian population of Spain trying for centuries to reclaim their land from the Muslim rulers.

Constant push-backs over 700-plus years meant that, although Moorish rule was largely peaceful and the communities were never segregated – mixed marriages were common, meaning many 21st-century Spaniards who traced their family trees back to the Mediaeval era would probably find an Arab line in them – ongoing tugs of war went on across the country, as neither society was willing to share.

It's debatable whether this territorial sentiment contributed, or not, to the devastating and cruel acts of the Inquisition, when not only the dominant Moors but also Jews were forced to convert to Catholicism, leave the country, or be tortured, imprisoned and killed – as were Catholics themselves if the slightest hint of 'blasphemy' or 'heresy', proven or merely rumoured, came to light – but it does not seem that Don Pelayo's immediate legacy was about forcing communities out of their home nation. It was more about who was in charge, and of where.

But Mel Gibson believes Pelagius of Asturias did, at least, 'bring his people together' and that 'what he did' was 'an historic feat'.

'What he did' included winning the Battle of Covadonga in 722 – just 15 years before his death aged 53 – and turning the larger municipality, or Concejo, of Cangas de Onís, of which Covadonga forms part, into his Royal court.

Pelayo established Cangas de Onís as the capital of the Kingdom of Asturias and, as he gradually conquered more and more territory throughout what is now mainland Spain – hundreds of kilometres of land, in several directions – Cangas became the capital of these, too.

For this reason, Cangas de Onís is widely held to be Spain's first-ever capital 'city'.

Not for long, though

As Pelayo and, after his death, his supporters, gradually conquered increasing swathes of territory, the national capital was moved to Pravia, also in Asturias; then, in a bid to maintain greater control over a Kingdom that looked as though it would never stop growing, the Spanish capital was moved to the city of León, in what is now the centre-northern region of Castilla y León and whose cathedral is one of the top-rated attractions in its province.

But Cangas de Onís is still thought to have been the first location to hold the status Madrid does today, even though the latter is now, in population terms, 1,065 times the size of the former.

Spain's first-ever capital has just 6,195 residents.

Cangas de Onís' coat of arms bears the slogan, Minima Urbium Maxima Sedium, which translates as 'The smallest of cities, the largest of capitals' – and it could certainly be described as the 'maxima sedium' of nature, beauty, history and quirky attractions, at least in Asturias, if not the whole of the northern strip of mainland Spain.

Prehistoric, with Celtic influences and a dash of Ancient Rome

A Palaeolithic settlement has been found in Cangas de Onís – one of the largest and most significant, in fact, in the whole of Asturias – with Iron-Age implements unearthed in it.

Believed to have been inhabited around 18,000 years ago, this means it dates back to the later extreme of the Palaeolithic era, the longest in the history of homo sapiens and stretching from around 2.59 million to 12,000 years ago, practically covering the whole of the period known as the Environment of Evolutionary Adaptation (EEA). 

This was when today's humans evolved, and is the long era in which almost all our habits, instincts and behaviours today, from 'fight-or-flight' stress reactions and phobias to jealous partners and even what we look for in a relationship, are believed to have originated.

Unsurprisingly, the Palaeolithic period is probably the most-studied and most fascinating of all ancient eras – and if you visit Cangas de Onís, you can explore it for yourself.

The Buxu Cave, about two kilometres from Cangas and discovered in 1916, is thought to have been a 'summer residence' for coast-based hunter-gatherers, and the artwork on its walls is perfectly preserved – abstract figures, images of goats, two beautiful and very lifelike horses, carved and coloured in with black dye, are among those that attract the most attention.

In order to preserve this cave art for another 18,000 years, visits are restricted to a maximum of five per group, and no more than 25 per day.

Other fascinating, once-occupied caves that are more recent in history – around 9,500 to 14,000 years old – on site are the Cueva de los Azules and Cueva de la Huelga, which can also be explored, normally on guided tours.

Around the fourth millennium BCE (BC), or the Neolithic era, huge funerary structures were built throughout what is now the continent of Europe, some of which – known as Dolmens – are thought to be Celtic in origin.

Celts are believed to have been a cultural movement, rather than an actual ethnic group, and although widely associated with Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall and Wales, their influence was also strong in parts of France, such as Brittany; in northern Portugal; and across the north of Spain.

Asturias, Cantabria and Galicia have a very strong Celtic flavour in their ages-old culture, which survives today – particularly in music and dance – and very tangible examples of the Celts' vestiges can be seen in the Santa Cruz and Abamia Dolmens in Cangas de Onís.

These are made from solid hewn blocks of stone, squarish, forming chambers; their design and purpose have points in common with the Pyramids in Cairo, Egypt – massive bricks arranged into monuments in tribute to those buried inside them.

Only the Santa Cruz Dolmen remains; the Abamia one has all but disappeared, with just the primary slab surviving and now residing in Madrid's National Archaeological Museum.

As well as its stunning Mediaeval bridge, more 'modern' history seen in Cangas de Onís includes a stretch of its Roman road, with the original stone surface largely intact.

The jewel in Cangas' crown

The parish of Covadonga forms part of the Concejo of Cangas de Onís, and it is thought that, here, Don Pelayo's troops sought refuge in a cave halfway up the mountain during the battle that led to Cangas' becoming Spain's first capital.

They believed they won the conflict thanks to the guidance of the Virgin Mary, whom they claimed appeared before them, and a temple was built in her honour.

The Covadonga Sanctuary, as well as being one of Spain's most unusual churches – tucked into a cave high up a cliff above a gushing waterfall – is also one of the country's most-visited and best-loved tourist attractions, losing none of its appeal 1,300 years after it was founded – despite the 103 steps you have to climb to get there.

A key pilgrimage destination, the chapel and the statue of the Virgin, known as La Santina, are very much worth the hike.

Another, slightly easier way to get there is via the esplanade that encompasses the Basilica.

In practice, the original Santina was destroyed in a fire in 1777, but rebuilt.

The altar is decorated with images depicting the Battle of Covadonga, and the tombs of Don Pelayo and his wife, Gauiosa, his son-in-law Alfonso I, and Hermelinda, are close by – as is the San Pedro monastery, which is still inhabited by a community of monks.

Legend has it that young single people who drink from the Siete Caños cascade beneath the Sanctuary, without taking a breath, will be married within a year.

Guided tours to the Covadonga Sanctuary and 'Holy Cave' take in the Basilica of Covadonga, a spectacular Neo-Romanesque church with intricate spires which took 24 years to build once the first stone was laid in 1877, and granted the status of 'Basilica Minor' by Pope León XII upon its completion.

The Basilica and its tied museum contain a huge monument in tribute to Pelagius of Asturias, a permanent exhibition about the battle, and the so-called 'Treasure of La Santina', a wealth of offerings made to the Virgin since the conflict that led to Cangas' becoming capital of Spain.

Cangas de Onís, naturally

The Covadonga lakes, which you can reach via shuttle-bus that leaves every 10 minutes from Cangas' coach station, are simply breathtaking – deep-blue pools in the heart of grassy mountains of over 1,000 metres above sea level, the La Ercina lagoon, despite its muddy depths, is home to a huge variety of aquatic life and the Enol lagoon, crystal-clear, is 23 metres deep, but so clean you can usually see the bottom of it.

In fact, the Covadonga Mountain and its lakes was Spain's first-ever National Park – although it became incorporated into the Picos de Europa National Park when this huge mountain range, stretching across Asturias, Cantabria and part of the province of León, received this status in 1995.

One of 16 in the country, the Covadonga Mountain was granted this status in 1918 in its own right, before becoming absorbed within the Picos de Europa 77 years later.

Since 1918, Spain has 'collected' another 15 National Parks, the most recent of which is the Sierra de las Nieves in the province of Málaga, declared in 2021.