Cornellana

Cornellana is a town in the council of Salas, in the heart of Asturias, spread out where the rivers Narcea and Nonaya meet and crossed squarely by the Camino Primitivo. Its great landmark is the Monastery of San Salvador, founded in 1024 by the infanta Cristina, daughter of King Bermudo II of León, and declared a National Monument in 1931. Romanesque in origin and enlarged in later centuries, the complex belonged to the Benedictine congregation and for centuries took in pilgrims coming down from the Alto del Fresno; in 2015 UNESCO listed it as an individual property of the Camino Primitivo when the pilgrim route was extended as a World Heritage site. Ringed by fertile meadows beside the Narcea, the town keeps the calm air of riverside Asturias. For pilgrims, Cornellana is a resting point halfway through the stage between Grado and Salas, with basic services and the privilege of stopping beside one of the most venerable monasteries on the route. Its heritage and its setting make it one of the stops with the most history on the Asturian stretch.