Issue date: 05 Oct, 2018
ANNIVERSARIES. 1300 YEARS SINCE THE CONSTITUTION OF THE KINGDOM OF ASTURIAS.
The Kingdom of the Astures was the first Christian political entity of the Iberian Peninsula.
The history of the kingdom is considered to have begun in 718, when it is thought that Don Pelayo was elected leader of the rebels. The end is usually placed in 925, when Fruela II of Asturias succeeded his brother Ordoño II and joined the Asturian territories to the Kingdom of León.
Both the Cronica Rotensis and the chronicle of Al-Maqqari say that Pelayo fled from Toledo to the mountains of Asturias, where he instigated a revolt against the Muslim rulers of Gijón. When they heard that Muslim forces were approaching, Pelayo and his men hid in the Covadonga caves,where they ambushed the Saracen army, which according to the Christian chronicles, was wiped out.
Although the victory was in fact over just a few dozen Berber soldiers, it gave Pelayo great prestige and led to a mass insurrection by the Astures.
This year marks 1300 years since the founding of the Kingdom of Asturias, and Correos is commemorating this important anniversary with a new stamp.
The foreground of the stamp shows the 1970 Monument to Don Pelayo by Félix Alonso Arena in the Asturian town of Cangas de Onís. Behind it is the main façade of the Basilica of Covadonga, designed by Roberto Frassinelli and built in 1877 - 1901 by the architect Federico Aparici y Soriano in the Romanesque revival style, entirely in pink limestone.
The finishing touch is the Victory Cross from the Holy Chamber of Oviedo Cathedral, one of the most representative symbols of the Principality of Asturias, appearing on the region’s flag and coat of arms.
Rate A - €0.75. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, up to 20 g.
Rate A2 - €0.85. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, between 20 g and 50 g.
Rate B - €1.65. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to Europe (including Greenland), up to 20 g.
Rate C - €1.75. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the rest of the world (except USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand), up to 20 g.
Rate D - €2.10. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, up to 20 g.