At the top of Mount Naranco is one of the most popular monuments in Oviedo: the Monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This is part of a sculpture complex made up of more than 100 sculptures distributed along the streets of the city.
Originally designed by García Lomas and sculpted in stone by the artists Rafael Rodríguez Urrusti and Gerardo Zaragoza, together with assembly by José Antonio Navas Iglesias, the sculpture complex dates back to 1980 and has an impressive height of 30 meters.
The origins of this monumental work date back to 1950 when an intention was presented to provide the city with a large representative structure of Oviedo, designed by Ramoncita Bertrand and Father Vega in conjunction with the collaboration of Sabino Álvarez Gendín. Its construction began in 1963.
After 18 years, in which certain budgetary inconveniences were not lacking, the work was finally completed. The monument was opened in July 1981.
The first thing that catches one’s attention is the magnificence of the work: Christ opening his arms on a pyramidal pedestal on which one can see a splendid, beautifully carved metal Latin cross.
In addition to its size, the Monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus stands as a declaration of the principles of a bastion of the Christian faith during the fierce struggle of the Reconquest and as an intrinsic part of the Asturian idiosyncrasy.
What to see in Oviedo