Avilés (Asturian and Spanish: [aβiˈles] ) is a town in Asturias, Spain. Avilés is, along with Oviedo and Gijón, one of the main cities in the Principality of Asturias.
The town occupies the flattest land in the municipality, partially in a land that belonged to the sea, surrounded by small promontories, all of them having an altitude of less than 140 metres. Situated in the Avilés estuary, in the Northern Central area of the Asturian coast, west of Peñas Cape, is its national seaport.
Oviedo (Spanish: [oˈβjeðo] ) or Uviéu (Asturian: [uˈβjew]) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. With a population of 220,027, it is also the 2nd-largest city in Asturias.
Oviedo is located approximately 24 km (15 mi) southwest of Gijón and 23 km (14 mi) southeast of Avilés, both of which lie on the shoreline of the Bay of Biscay. Oviedo's proximity to the ocean of less than 30 kilometres (19 mi) in combination with its elevated position with areas of the city more than 300 metres above sea level causes the city to have a maritime climate, even though it does not sit directly on the shore.
Gijón (Spanish: [xiˈxon] ) or Xixón (Asturian: [ʃiˈʃoŋ]) is a port city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and municipality by population in the autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coast of the Cantabrian Sea in the Bay of Biscay, in the central-northern part of Asturias; it is approximately 24 km (15 mi) north-east of Oviedo, the capital of Asturias, and 26 km (16 mi) from Avilés. With a population of 270,219 as of 2024, Gijón is the 16th-largest city in Spain.
Gijón forms part of a large metropolitan area that includes twenty councils in the center of the region, structured with a dense network of roads, highways and railways and with a population of 835,053 inhabitants in 2011, making it the 7th-largest in Spain.
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpeðɾo meˈnendeθ ðe aβiˈles]; Asturian: Pedro (Menéndez) d'Avilés; 15 February 1519 – 17 September 1574) was a Spanish admiral, explorer and conquistador from Avilés, in Asturias, Spain. He is notable for planning the first regular trans-oceanic convoys, which became known as the Spanish treasure fleet, and for founding St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565. This was the first successful European settlement in La Florida and the most significant city in the region for nearly three centuries.
St. Augustine is the oldest continuously inhabited, European-established settlement in the continental United States. Menéndez de Avilés was the first governor of La Florida (1565–74). By his contract, or asiento, with Philip II, Menéndez was appointed adelantado and was responsible for implementing royal policies to build fortifications for the defense of conquered territories in La Florida and to establish Castilian governmental institutions in desirable areas.
In Spain, the legal designation Conjunto histórico (formerly Conjunto Histórico-Artístico or "Historic-Artistic Grouping") is part of the national system of heritage listing. It is applied to buildings in a given locality. It is typically used to protect complete villages, such as Peñaranda de Duero, or historic quarters of towns such as Avilés.
Conjunto means "group", and as a group listing, the Conjunto histórico is comparable with the British concept of a Conservation Area. Conjunto histórico is a sub-category within a broader category of Bien de Interés Cultural, which protects Spain's cultural heritage and is regulated by the country's Ministry of Culture. As well as conjuntos históricos, the category of Bien de Interés Cultural includes the following sub-categories of non-movable heritage: