The Museo del Real Sitio de Covadonga has reopened to the public following a patronage project launched by the Fundación María Cristina Masaveu Peterson in 2017 to catalogue the collections for display at the newly renovated museum. The exhibition of the collections has been designed according to a new museological criterion and under the scientific direction of Yayoi Kawamura and Vidal de la Madrid, both holders of PhDs and co-authors, along with Javier Barón, Javier González, Alfonso Palacio and Juan José Tuñón, of the Museo del Real Sitio de Covadonga: Collections Catalogue. Published by the Fundación María Cristina Masaveu Peterson in 2018 in Spanish and English, the collections catalogue has provided the scientific basis for the exhibition and museological discourse of the Museo del Real Sitio de Covadonga.
Promoted by the Archbishopric of Oviedo and with the complete patronage of the Foundation, which provided professional, technical and financial resources, the catalogue is the latest of a series of initiatives jointly undertaken by the institutions. One of its aims was to improve the accessibility and facilities of the museum, located on the ground and first floors of the old Hostal Favila that was built between 1920 and 1931 by the architects Miguel Ángel García-Lomas and Urbano Manchobas to provide adequate accommodation for pilgrims.
Vidal de la Madrid and Yayoi Kawamura designed the museological project and the exhibition discourse, selected the pieces documented in the catalogue, and co-authored the texts along with Javier Barón Thaidigsmann, Javier González Santos, Alfonso Palacio and Juan José Tuñón Escalada. The new discourse also includes magnificent works on permanent loan, such as the Chronological Series of the Kings of Spain owned by the Museo Nacional del Prado.
With a view to fostering the exchange of works with other museums and collections, the Museo del Real Sitio de Covadonga has a special place dedicated to temporary exhibitions of “guest works”. La Batalla de Covadonga [The Battle of Covadonga], by Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau, loaned by Cangas de Onís Town Council for the museum opening, is the first work to be temporarily hosted and will remain on display until 1 June 2024, when it will return to its current location at Casa Riera in Cangas de Onís.
In addition to these works, the museological discourse includes a new piece donated by the FMCMP to the Council of the Royal Site of Covadonga: a diptych featuring the life-size replica of the front and back of the Victoria Cross that is held in the Holy Chamber of Oviedo Cathedral along with other relics. The photographs are the work of Santiago Relanzón and were taken in 2008 during the works which the Foundation carried out at Oviedo Cathedral to adapt and improve the facilities for exhibition purposes and the celebration of the Holy Year of the Cross.
The reopening of the Museo del Real Sitio de Covadonga represents the completion of a long patronage initiative that will help to enhance public appreciation of the historical, religious and landscape importance of this unique site. It also bears witness to the Foundation’s commitment to cultural heritage, and to Asturias in particular.
