Puntos de Interés
Municipality
Benia de Onís
At the gateway to the Picos de Europa sits the capital of the Onís Council, Benia de Onís. This locality, with around 500 inhabitants, is in a beautiful area and is a village with a rich traditional heritage in terms of livestock, religion and folklore.
Benia de Onís can trace its origins back to the La Peruyal cave in Avín, a locality that falls under Benia de Onís to the east of Benia. Prehistoric animals that thrived in the Picos de Europa inhabited this cave. One example of these fascinating creatures is a fossilised woolly rhinoceros calf from 40,000 years ago that is now petrified. You can see a replica of this calf, along with other exhibits, at the Avín Glacial Fauna Interpretation Centre.
We know that later on, around 2500 to 1500 B.C., humans were active in Benia in the El Milagro mine, located in Bobia de Arriba. The early people used the cave to extract copper. It is one of the first documented mines in Spain. Human remains with green pigments from copper oxides and mining tools such as deer antler picks, metal axes, and crucibles have been found there. This mine was also operated by the Romans in later centuries.
Before the Romans arrived in Benia, the area was inhabited by a Cantabrian-Asturian tribe called the Vadinienses. It is thought that the name Benia may derive from the Vadinienses, who lived in the settlement of Vadini. This pre-Roman people settled in an ancient fortified fortress located atop a limestone hill near Benia called Castru Cuetu Chico. Today, what remains can be seen as a circle of fallen stones that were part of the walls. This site has been included in the Inventory of the Heritage of Asturias.
After the Vadinienses battled the Roman Empire during the Cantabrian Wars, the Benia were slowly Romanised and this showed not only in their culture but also in the Roman bridges and a Roman road that connected the area to other villages.
Benia's heritage is also influenced by religion, as can be seen in the Church of Santa Eulalia, included in the Architectural Inventory of the Principality of Asturias. This church, whose construction date is not known, is supported by a Latin cross plan and crowned by a whitewashed barrel vault. Two side chapels open out from the transept. One is called the chapel of the Assumption and the other is the chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary, both of which are strengthened on the outside by ashlar buttresses. Its striking exterior features a porticoed corridor, a whitewashed ogival arch, and a narrow tower that was built in 1897. Its most beautiful feature is a majestic Gothic portal at its north entrance that can be dated back to the 14th century. The interior is decorated in the same Gothic architectural style as the arch, although, over the centuries, renovations have introduced a blend of later stylistic influences.
The Church of Sainy Eulalia is complemented by the Chapel of Saint Roch, a small 17th-century Baroque chapel featuring a single nave, wooden frame, enclosed porch, and topped with a bell tower. Inside, it houses an interesting Baroque altarpiece. It is worth noting that this chapel was used as a cemetery during the 19th-century French invasion.
There is also another shrine on the outskirts of Benia called the Ermita del Castru, that has a more popular flavour to it. Every 15th August, a procession and a pilgrimage take place, and a mass is held in honour of Our Lady of Castru. This is accompanied by the music of the bagpipes of the Oviedo City Bagpipers Band playing folk tunes from eastern Asturias.
The Interpretation Centre "Las Montañas del Quebrantahuesos" (The Mountains of the Bearded Vulture) is well worth a visit. It is a place that teaches, promotes, and raises awareness about environmental and ethnological aspects of the Picos de Europa, such as how the shepherds live, the Bearded Vulture Recovery Programme in the Picos de Europa, and the ecology of the local fauna.
Similarly, Benia retains splendid examples of Asturian popular architecture, showcasing houses and mansions like the Huerta-Niembro mansion dating back to 1680, a mansion from the early 19th century in the Beniancima neighbourhood, and the Rectory house from the 18th century.
Finally, Benia de Onís is the starting point of the Gamonéu cheese gastronomy route. This cheese is mainly produced around Onís, although it is also made in Cangas de Onís. Its production is overseen by the Regulatory Council of the Gamonéu Designation of Origin, as it holds the title of Protected Designation of Origin. This delicious cheese can be tasted at the Gamonéu Cheese Festival, an annual event hosted in Benia de Onís every last Sunday of October. This is a unique event in the Council and in Asturias.