47.- Church of Santa María del Naranco in Oviedo The Palace of Ramiro I in Naranco. a singular construction without a clear purpose (palace. church. royal pavilion. aula regia. etc.). is the most significant construction of European pre-Romanesque art. It was built between 842 and 850. The rectangular building is divided into two floors; a lower floor or crypt that is totally closed and an upper diaphanous floor. connected by an external staircase. The construction. with its meticulous masonry. is elevated on a stone base to prevent a vertical position that is reinforced by fluted buttresses reaching the roof. The lower floor or crypt is similar to Santa Leocadia. in the Holy Chamber. It is accessed from the outside. and is fully vaulted and reinforced with transverse arches. The upper floor is reached from the exterior staircase. It is a single room with viewpoints on both sides and some mullioned windows that simulates another floor in one of its sides. The viewpoints are structured in triple arches that rest on columns with carved shafts and Corinthian capitals. Outside. from the windows. there are hanging fluted pillars with crosses ending in medallions with animal and human figures. The interior. completely vaulted. is crossed by transverse arches which parallel the exterior decoration of pilasters decorated with medallions. Attached to the walls are columns with worked shafts and capitals in a truncated pyramidal shape with decorations. All the stone of the building is finely carved. all the arches. imposts. etc.. are fluted. On the side of the building that faces the city there are remains of a possible royal tribune. Inside the church there is a reproduction of the primitive Ara de Consagración de Santa María del Naranco.