Columbian artist Fernando Botero has an instantly recognizable style. Plumpness, I suppose it could be called. Plump animals, plump objects, plump prisoners and, above all, plump women.

One of Oviedo’s best statues is Botero’s La Maternidad, found in the Plaza de la Escandalera. A woman, hugely fat but also strikingly beautiful, looks to the right while her happy, fat infant plays on her knee. The proportions of the woman’s body are wild, with massive legs and hips supporting a relatively lithe upper body. Her breasts are small and pert, and her hair tied back into a long ponytail.

Despite her obesity, the feeling conveyed is one of health, with its clearly loved and well-nourished infant. Maternity an exuberant celebration of life, paying tribute to the joys of motherhood, and there can be little wonder that it’s one of the most popular of Oviedo’s many statues.

- Book a Hotel in Oviedo

The capital of Asturias is one of the most beautiful cities in Spain, and a walk through its streets reveals Oviedo’s 1000-year history, as much as the vibrant, contemporary place it is today. The ancient Pre-Romanesque churches and Baroque palaces are stunning, but we had just as much pleasure photographing the more modern buildings.

Here’s another set of random pictures of Oviedo, taken over the past week. This city is really beautiful.

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– Beautiful Beach in Asturias

For centuries, a massive oak tree stood in the heart of Oviedo. Known as El Carbayón, it was an important symbol of the city’s identity.

Even today, people from Oviedo refer to themselves as “carbayones” despite the fact that their tree was chopped down in 1879. Urban planners had wanted to modernize the city, and their proposed road leading to the train station (today’s Calle Uria) had to go directly through the Carbayón. A bitter fight over the fate of the tree ensued, and progressives won the council vote by 14 to 9. The oak was felled.

There’s a memorial plaque to the Carbayón found at the end of Calle Uria, and a replacement oak affectionately named El Carbayín has been planted near the Teatro Campoamor. Also, a local baker invented a special treat, in tribute to the deceased tree. The pastry, also known as a carbayón, has become an Oviedo institution in its own right… sticky, sweet and worthy of its own post, another day.

Location of the Memorial Plaque
Location of El Carbayín

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