Investigating on the Piloña History and thanks to excelent investigation works made of by several authors that allow us to know other data that helps us to situate the origin of the coat of arms that is represented in the main front side of the Palacete Real belonging to the lineage of the family Alvarez-Nava.

The territory of the actual Piloña town council was inhabited by the human being since the Neolitic,so it is proved by the studies made by E. Arnau, between other authors and several evidencies of human being life found in the Cave d´Aviau in Espinareu.

From the Low Paleolitic were found too other materials in zones like Coya and Ludeña (Camin Real del Cierru Corralon), Peña Sorribes (Sebares) and Cueva de Sidron in Borines.

E. Martinez Hombre marks the sure existence of remains of the Neolitic age from the Coya Dolmen or a cave in Valle, today in an unknown place. Archaeological studies stablish an intense megalitic occupation.In the Iron age, appear fortified assents called castros “ El Picu Viyao”, “el Cierron de Castiellu”, “La Corona Castru”, etc. We have knowledge of a golden jewel proceeding from Moñes (Villamayor) and it is considered as one of the most important native goldsmithship example of Asturias.

In this age of the Astur kingdom, Piloña supose a compulsory way between the center zone and the orient of Asturias, that is deduced of a Rotense cronical where is narrated the travel of Pelayo from Gijon to Covadonga where is begun the resistance against the musulmans, the cradle of the Reconquest.
In the High Middle-Age, there are concrete mentions to the Piloña Valley.In the Liber Testamentorum of the Oviedo Cathedral appear two news, one in the 926 in which Ramiro (Alfonso III´s son) makes a donation to the Church of Oviedo of several churchs, between them some next to the Piloña River, and the other one on 1090 for the donation too to the Church of Oviedo of another property in the Piloña Valley.

In the XIII and XIV centuries there is some administrative personalities represented by some characters as “tenente” and notario publicu in Pilonnia.

Some zones in the Pilonian territories will belong to noble families, rising in these centuries.
Thanks to the work of investigation of Andres Martinez Vega, between others, we know that in the Piloña Valley, besides of a transit place, has been a place of assentment of human colectivities, like it was said before, for ages. As in archaeology as in the way toponymy ”el caleyu”, “La Pontiga”, “El Calzau”, etc. prove the big process of romanization to which these places were subject to, so, the latin names of “Villa Maiore” Villamayor. The “villa” of the high middle age allude to a place inhabited by farmers, by a lord with servants or by a single family, all of them units of agrarian exploitation with a complex structure, and with this organization, appear the monasteries. Of the religious tradition in the Piloña Valley appear convents like the one that deals with Sta Maria and that is located in the actual villa of villamayor. This monastery is governed by a female community of the San Benito order. It was situated in a crossroad of traditionally and centenary ways next to the place that today is the Palacete Real. The one testimony that survived is the convent church, to that, give mention respectively C. Gonzalez santirso and G.M. of Jovellanos in “news of a pilgrim from Oviedo to Covadonga” It is believed this monastery was built in the XII century throught a particular fundation of a relative close to a rich owner or to the nobility. In the second half of the XII century is a consolidated community, at the head of it, was an abbess. This process is at the same time the inferior nobility is rising during the XII century developing goverment functions and consequently the growing of the politic power of Alvar Diaz, member of the nobel clan of the zone and root of the powerful lineage of the Alvarez de Asturias that accumulate royal diplomas like “tenete de extremadura”, on 1213 in the reign of Alfonso IX, “tenente en Oviedo” on 1214 and “tenente en Piloña” between 1175 and 1190 that represents the document gathered by Jovellanos in which appears as confirmants Albaro Diaz in Piloña and Ordoño Albarez in Villamayor. Ordoño Albarez is a king delegate in Villamayor, not by king´s designation, but for a property title and he acted as a King´s Mayor in Jaen. It is believed that the Alvarez family was the owner of the villa of Villamayorand that the evolution to monastery with a monastic life had to be with the initiative of this family. It is believed that Mrs Aldonza Diaz, first abbess known of the Piloña´s monastery had links of relatives with Alvar Diaz ( who is the ancestor of the lineage of Alvarez-Nava). The Abbesses of Villamayor had the absolut power over every single aspect of the abbey, all of them with surnames of noble origibn and with a field in the territories of Piloña as the Alvarez de Asturias, so the beggining of a monacal life suposed a donation for the family. The church of Sta Maria la Villamayor that is placed in the beggining as a privative function of the nun´s comunity, is today a sample of the best Asturian romanic art of which, the abside and lateral portal form the one constructive remain conserved of the monastery with the same name. In the XIV century, the bishop of Oviedo, Gutierrez de Toledo disolved the Monastery under de accusation of rupture of the votes of poverty, dressing, disobedience and public exhibition of their sexual life, sending the nuns to the monastery of san Bartolome de Nava and organizating after all a male community dependent of Valdedios. But it did not last much, so soon will be nuns again in Villamayor. In the XVI century the Pope Inocencio VIII authorizes the Catholic Kings to develope the reforms of the monastery of the benedictinos that will affect our monastery. So the monastic autonomy will finish in Villamayor that will belong to the San Pelayo monastery in Oviedo not with some resistance of the nuns at the front of them was Mrs Mencia de Mones. Sta Maria will contribute to S. Pelayo a big patrimony and the holding of the jurisdictional dominion of Llames. Returning to the history of the town council of Piloña, and as we were telling, in the low middle age, it is disolved the monastery of Villamayor joined to the San Pelayo of Oviedo. There are references of the devotion of the Virgen de la Cueva.

In the XVII there only subsist now few aristocratric enclosed pasture grounds, in the XVIII century the fees of the Marques of Ensenada and one inform of Cepeda show us an agricultural and livestock Piloña. The demographic growing and the few economical resources push the american emmigration to Cuba, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Mexico, etc. The more fortunate leave their testimony at their return in magnific houses of indianos detailing the ones inVillamayor and Sebares.

The palace of indianos in Villamayor, Palace of the Alvarez-Nava, descendants of the noble lineage, is nowadays the Palacete Real.

Alvarez is a patronimic that means son or descendant of Alvar or Alvaro. The oldest branch of this lineage seems to be the one of the Alvarez of Asturias, with ancestral houses in the Nava town council ( jury party of Infiesto ) and others. As the reconquest advanced, this surname was deep extended all over the peninsula and then to America. Were lots of Alvarez who tried nobility in several military orders and in the Reales Cancillerias of Valladolid and Granada, in the real Audiencia de Oviedo and in the Real Compañia de los Guardias Marinos. The ones from Asturias have as coat of arms checkered of fifteen chess, eight gules and seven veros.

The oldest branch of this lineage of the Alvarez of Asturias is the one of the Alvarez-Nava. One of the descendant of the Alvarez –Nava is Mr. antonio Alvarez-Nava, lawyer, that emigrates to cuba and Puerto Rico and that assigns at the beggining of the XX century the construction of a colonial palace that today we are in “Palacio de los Alvarez-Nava”, nowadays Hotel Palacete Real, to the renowned architect Mr. Manuel del Busto.
Mr. Antonio Alvarez assigns to Mr. Saturnino Canteli Mayor, neighbour of Cuenya, the transfer of the coat of arms from the older house, today in ruines and placed in Casa Nueva in the parish of Cuenya in the town council of Nava, to the Palace in Villamayor that would preside since then the main front side.


Coat of Arms

The coat of arms is a variant of the alvarez-Nava that draws seven castles, disposed in 1-2-1-2-1.

Nowadays the palace takes part of the Patrimonio Civil de Interes Cultural , protected by the Administracion del Principado de Asturias.

Alfredo and Dora the actual owners, after a laborious and long work of recovering of almost two years in which has been respected its original architecture as the design of its beautiful french style gardens, have converted with all their dedication and fondling in a nice luxury hotel, “Hotel Palacete Real”.

By all, the Palacete real is a place of dreaming where the visitors for sure will feel comfortable and will enjoy of their stay with us.