San Tirso is a Roman Catholic church in Oviedo in Asturias, dedicated to Saint Thyrsus. It was established in the 790s by Tioda, the royal architect of Alfonso II of Asturias, and it is known to have housed a royal chapel. The style is pre-Romanesque and Romanesque.
It is a basilica with a nave and aisles, divided by rough stone piers at unequal intervals. Round arches rise from the piers. The easternmost arch is more pointed, so that its crown matches the height of the others, and the article compares this to Imperial Roman vaulting.
The Great Fire of Oviedo in 1521 and an eighteenth-century rebuilding removed most of the original church. The general plan survives, with a three-light sanctuary window that has pre-Romanesque bases, rough brick arches and rudely carved leaf capitals.
Comments