Gardens and Pilgrims’ Cemetery of Oviedo Cathedral

Between the Holy Chamber and the east end of the Cathedral of San Salvador in Oviedo lies a small garden accessed from the cloister. Traditionally known as the Pilgrims’ Cemetery, it is one of the most distinctive and secluded corners of the Cathedral complex, closely linked to the Cathedral’s funerary history and to medieval pilgrimage.

Origins of the site Bishops’ pantheon The pilgrims The lost chapel The centuries-old olive tree

Pilgrims’ Cemetery of Oviedo Cathedral. Photograph: Sitomon / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

A garden between the Holy Chamber and the Cathedral

The present Pilgrims’ Cemetery occupies a small plot that, in the early centuries of the Middle Ages, belonged to the neighbouring Monastery of San Vicente. The enlargement of the Cathedral during the Gothic period and, later, the construction of the ambulatory eventually incorporated it into the Sancta Ovetensis complex.

Its location offers exterior views of part of the Holy Chamber and the crypt of Saint Leocadia, one of the oldest structures in the Cathedral complex.

The former bishops’ pantheon

The earliest documented funerary use of this site was not connected with pilgrims. In the 10th century, a small porticoed area adjoining the north side of the crypt of Saint Leocadia served as a bishops’ pantheon.

Remains of this former funerary space can still be seen beside the wall of the crypt, making the garden particularly interesting for understanding the historical development of the Cathedral complex.

A name that can be misleading: although it is now known as the Pilgrims’ Cemetery, the garden itself does not appear to have been the usual burial place for pilgrims who died in Oviedo.

Oviedo and the duty to bury pilgrims

Veneration of the relics kept in the Holy Chamber made Oviedo an important medieval pilgrimage destination and a key stop for those continuing towards Santiago de Compostela.

From at least the 15th century, the Cathedral had a duty to provide a dignified burial for pilgrims who died in the city. For a time, these burials took place at the nearby Hospital of San Juan and at other hospitals in Oviedo.

The lost funerary chapel

The Statutes issued in 1588 during the episcopate of Diego Aponte de Quiñones emphasised the care due to deceased pilgrims. To fulfil this purpose, a simple chapel intended for burials stood beside the garden, with access from Calle de San Vicente.

A gateway opened onto a small vestibule: the garden lay to one side and the chapel to the other. Burials were made in the earthen floor of this enclosure. By the 20th century the building was badly deteriorated and it was demolished in the late 1920s.

The centuries-old olive tree and the Holy Land tradition

The garden’s most distinctive plant is a centuries-old olive tree growing beside the Cathedral walls. Its presence has given the site a particularly recognisable appearance.

According to an old tradition, the tree was brought from the Holy Land by a pilgrim. There is no historical evidence confirming this origin, so it should be understood as a tradition associated with the site’s pilgrim character.

Olivo del Pilgrims’ Cemetery of Oviedo Cathedral

Olive tree in the Pilgrims’ Cemetery of Oviedo Cathedral. Photograph: amaianos / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 2.0.

A corner linked to the Camino de Santiago

Within a small area, the Pilgrims’ Cemetery brings together several centuries of history: the former bishops’ pantheon, assistance to those who came to Oviedo to venerate the relics, the lost funerary chapel and the tradition of the olive tree from the Holy Land.

Its proximity to the Holy Chamber also recalls Oviedo Cathedral’s close relationship with medieval pilgrimage and the Primitive Way to Santiago.