Asturias, The Spanish Autonomy essays

Asturias, The Spanish Autonomy essays Spain is a country filled with diverse cultures and many exciting sights. These sights can be seen in the most rural part of the country or the most densely populated. Asturias is an autonomy located in the North West portion of Spain. Autonomies are self-governing bodies, which are comparable to the States of the United States. For those of you who arent familiar with Spain, Asturias lies between Glacia and Basque Country. In 1978 it was granted a pre-autonomy regime and on January 11th 1982 its Autonomy Statute came into effect. This officially gave the historic name of Principality of Asturias. The three largest cities in Asturias are Oviedo, Gijon, and Aviles. The region's capital, Oviedo, located more or less at its geographical center, is especially remarkable for its pre-roman monuments and its great cathedral. Gijon is a historic city, founded by Romans, and is today one of the most important sea-ports and offers active cultural life. Aviles is one of the oldest settlements of the area, is of great economical importance too, but conserves as well its traditional style. Some seem refer to it as the industrial capital of the autonomy. Throughout history, the Asturians have been regarded as quite rebellious. This attitude dates back to ancient times when they, along with the Cantrabrians, resisted the emperor Augustus at a time when the rest of the peninsula was under the tight grip of Rome. The Asturians succeeded and thrived for many years. Around the 10th century, the Asturian monarchy shifted southward. The capital of Asturias was changed from Oviedo to Leon. The monarchy began to call itself Leonese. Although it was now regarded as a providence of the Castilian Leonese Crown, Asturias played an important role in the Spanish battles during the Middle Ages. In 1388, during the rule of Juan I, a new government was formed and it was decided that the title Prince of Astu...