Morcín, Asturias: municipality guide
Morcín is a mountain municipality in central Asturias, between the Monsacro and the Sierra del Aramo. Its capital is Santa Eulalia de Morcín —Santolaya in Asturian. With 2,460 inhabitants and 50.05 km², it is a municipality of small villages, medieval hermitages high on the mountain and the most artisan gastronomy of the Montaña Central.
Things to see in Morcín
The icon of the municipality is the Monsacro, popularly known as La Madalena: an emblematic mountain crowned by medieval hermitages from the 12th century, which legend says once guarded the Arca Santa (Holy Ark) with the relics of Oviedo Cathedral. From its summit you can see the central valley of Asturias and the Cantabrian mountain range.
The Sierra del Aramo, a natural boundary with Quirós and Riosa, dominates the west of the municipality with the Gamonal peak (1,710 m). The medieval tower of Peñerudes watches over one of the prettiest villages in the municipality, and the Los Alfilorios reservoir is one of the most important water reserves in central Asturias, surrounded by trails.
In La Foz, awarded the Exemplary Town of Asturias prize in 2002, stands the Ethnographic Museum of the Dairy (Museo Etnográfico de la Lechería), which preserves the traditional varieties of Asturian cheese, and the Hermandad de la Probe, founded in 1957, which revived Afuega’l pitu cheese when it was on the verge of extinction. The church of Santa Eulalia presides over the capital.
How to get there
From Oviedo and Mieres you arrive via the N-630, with the AS-242 as an alternative to the capital. Buses of the Consorcio de Transportes de Asturias (Oviedo–Riosa lines) stop in Santa Eulalia (Santolaya) several times a day, about 20 minutes from Oviedo. The municipality is some 14 kilometres from the Asturian capital.
Festivals and gastronomy
The big event is the Festival del Queso Afuega’l Pitu, held in La Foz in January with the cheese competition that gives the festival its name, together with the Fiestas de San Antón. The Hermandad de la Probe also organises the Jornadas Gastronómicas de los Nabos y Les Casadielles (turnip and casadiella gastronomic days) and a literary competition on Asturian cheeses, and each year awards the Quesero Mayor de Asturias prize. The pilgrimages to the medieval chapels of the Monsacro are another deep-rooted tradition. On the table, mountain products rule: Afuega’l pitu cheese in its varieties, turnips, casadiellas, and artisan milk and butter.
Municipality facts
Coat of arms: Wikimedia Commons (free license)
- Capital: Santa Eulalia de Morcín
- Population: 2,460 inhabitants (INE 2025)
- Area: 50.05 km²
- Zone: Central
- Demonym: morciniego
- Town Hall: Avda. Montsacro, 17, 33162 Santa Eulalia de Morcín. Tel. +34 985 78 31 62
Neighbouring municipalities
Useful links
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