Somado: Indian Architecture and Coastal Views

Somao is one of the best-preserved ensembles of Indian architecture in Asturias. In 2020, Somao received the award for Asturias’s exemplary village. Those exploring Somado can organise their impressions around architectural heritage, art, local production, festivals and landscapes. This combination does not focus attention on a single attraction, but on different ways of discovering the area.

Culture

The cultural highlights differ in scale and expression. You can take in the individual impressions in whatever order suits you and set your own priorities. Somao’s unitary schools are still in use and are a good example of a public building funded by Indianos. El Noceo preserves original furnishings as well as numerous original objects and documents connected with Somao’s Indian culture. La Casona has a large gallery surrounding the other three façades. El Panteón has a four-leaf clover-shaped floor plan, a striking blue dome, pointed-arch leaded-glass windows, pinnacles and angel figures. The Museo La Cuadrona houses a private collection of contemporary Asturian art, as well as numerous antiques and curious objects; access to the Museo La Cuadrona is by guided tour.

Regional Highlights

Those wishing to give different weight to local themes and festival culture will find two distinct perspectives here. With advance booking, the La Peñona cheese dairy offers tours during which visitors can observe the production and packaging of the three varieties of Afuega'l Pitu made there: fresh, white-ripened and red-ripened. Residents create salt carpets for the patron-saint festivals.

When choosing a holiday apartment in Somado, travel dates, room category and cancellation conditions can be considered separately; culture, views, walking routes and local production can likewise be set alongside one another as different priorities for your holiday days.

Landscape

The landscape offers several ways of looking and walking. The Mirador de Monteagudo viewpoint can be reached via a short climb through pine trees and offers views of the Nalón estuary, San Esteban, L’Arena and La Deva Island. The Mirador de La Peñona viewpoint lies at the foot of the mountain of the same name and offers views of the Nalón estuary and the entire coastline of the comarca. The two viewpoints therefore offer different perspectives: Monteagudo combines the climb through the pine trees with several named viewing destinations, while La Peñona places the Nalón and the coastline at the centre. The pleasant surroundings around the Fuente de Las Abedules spring invite visitors to take a walk. The viewpoints and the walk represent two different ways of experiencing the surroundings.

The La Peñona recreation area can be reached from Somao via the AS-233 road and, after La Calzada, via a paved path; from Pravia access leads through Escoredo and Villafría.

Back to the higher-level travel overview: Pravia.