San Millán Yuso and Suso Monasteries - UNESCO World Heritage Centre

Brief synthesis

San Millán Yuso and Suso Monasteries are located in the Autonomous Community of La Rioja, in the north of Spain. The property has an area of 19 hectares with a buffer zone. Because of the identification and inter-relationship of the two monasteries with elements of the Moorish, Visigothic, Mediaeval, Renaissance and Baroque styles, the architecture and the natural landscape bring together highly significant periods in the history of Spain.

In the mid-6th century, Saint Millán settled in a religious site – now the Monastery of Suso – on the flanks of the Cogolla or Distercios hills, where he was joined by other eremitic monks to found the Cogolla Community. It became, with time, a place of pilgrimage. A beautiful Romanesque church was erected in Suso, which stands intact to the present day, in honour to this saint. Subsequently, in 1503 King Garcia Sanchez of Najera ordered the construction of the Monastery of Yuso – meaning “lower” or “below” – on land below the Suso Monastery, which is where the monks continue the activities initiated in the Monastery of Suso. These continue to the present day.

The Monastery of Suso is comprised of a series of hermits’ caves, a church, and an entrance porch or narthex. The caves, originally used by the monks, are cut into the southern slope of the mountain. The current uncommon shape and orientation date back to the rebuilding carried out in the 16th century, which extended the Moorish structure and thus included the rear portico inside the church. Archaeological excavations in advance of the consolidation work on the west side of the church have revealed the foundations of a number of other monastery buildings. Research has also helped in identifying the location of caves used by the coenobites on the hillside above and around the church. The main buildings of the Monastery of Yuso, next to the modern village and below the Monastery of Suso, cluster around a small cloister known as the Canons’ Cloister (Patio de la Luna) and the main cloister, named after San Millán. The latter has two storeys. The lower storey is open and roofed with star-ribbed vaulting, and the upper storey is enclosed and houses the museum.

The Spanish language was “born” in the Monasteries of San Millán de Suso and San Millán de Yuso, and therefore they represent an essential part of the history of humanity. The Codex Aemilianensis 60 was written in the Suso scriptorium during the 9th and 10th centuries by one of the monks, who added marginal notes in Castilian and Basque, along with a prayer in Castilian, to clarify passages in the Latin text; this is the first known example of written Spanish. It was in this monastery, during the 13th century, that Gonzalo de Berceo wrote his first poems in Castilian in one of the church’s porticoes. The Suso Monastery is of great cultural interest so far as the early development of monasticism in Europe is concerned, since it represents the transition from an eremitic to a cenobitic community vividly in material terms. The continued survival of the community to the present day in the Yuso Monastery gives a very full picture of the trajectory of European monasticism.

Since the Monastery was founded in the 6th century by San Millán and his disciples, this site has been a centre of culture, history and religion for the north of Spain and the rest of the country. This religious site was strongly supported by the Royal House of Navarre, as well as by the Counts, Kings and Queens of Castile, during the 10th and 11th centuries. Of great universal associative importance is the fact that the Spanish language, one of the most common in the whole world today, was first written down here.

Criterion (ii): The monasteries of Suso and Yuso at San Millán de la Cogolla are exceptional testimony to the introduction and continuous survival of Christian monasticism, from the 6th century to the present day.

Criterion (iv): Because of the identification and relationship of the two monasteries with elements of the Moorish, Visigothic, Mediaeval, Renaissance and Baroque styles, the architecture and the natural landscape exemplify highly significant periods in the history of Spain.

Criterion (vi): The property is also of outstanding associative significance as the birthplace of the modern written and spoken Spanish language.

Integrity

The two monasteries are contained within the boundaries of the property. The Romanesque Monastery of Suso has been the subject of a series of restoration and preservation programmes since 1935. It has mostly recovered its 12th-century appearance and has equipment that controls the humidity, which is a potential issue for its stability due to its location on a sloped hillside.

The Monastery of Yuso has been subject of very few preservation and restoration interventions, all of which have been performed in accordance with the Venice Charter. The adaptation of part of the Monastery for its use as a hotel and centre for the study of the Spanish language has been minimal and performed respectfully, with the aim of not distorting the aspect or environment of the complex as a whole.

Since 1997, when the Monasteries of Yuso and Suso in San Millán de la Cogolla were inscribed on the World Heritage List, strict criteria have been followed in the interventions carried out on the Monasteries and their surroundings, thus maintaining at all times the exceptional values for which they were inscribed on the World Heritage List.

The periodic and continued geotechnical and environmental studies control the Monasteries’ surroundings by minimising their possible deterioration. All this, in addition to a management system that involves reduced visits and the prohibition of road traffic in the surroundings of the Monastery of Suso, have permitted the Monasteries to maintain the exceptional values for which they were inscribed on the World Heritage List.

Authenticity

The level of authenticity at both monasteries is high. Work done at the Suso Monastery has been directed solely towards the clearance of debris and removal of later elements so as to restore the church to its 13th century form. It might be argued that this has been to some extent contrary to the provisions of the 1964 Venice Charter. However, a study of photographs from the pre-restoration period shows the later additions to have been of low cultural quality and disfiguring; their impact on the core structure was also superficial.

At the Yuso Monastery conservation and restoration interventions have been minimal, and consonant with the principles of the Charter. Adaptations to use part of the monastery as a hotel and as a centre for the study of the Spanish language through CILENGUA (The International Research Centre of the Spanish Language), created in 2005 located in one of the Monastery’s wings, have been discreetly and sympathetically handled, and do not detract from the overall appearance or ambience of the complex.

The “Spirituality Hall” opened by the Recoleto Augustine Monks is also evidence of the continuity and survival of monastic life.

Protection and management requirements

Both Monasteries were declared Cultural Heritage Assets by Decree in 1931 and are protected by Law 16/1985 of June 25 of the Spanish Historical Heritage. Likewise, they are protected by Decree 12/1999, which declared them Sites of Cultural Interest, and the Agreement 2000 implemented by the Council of the Government of La Rioja, which approved the Special Protection Plan for both Monasteries. The Management Plan has been in place since October 1998, and the Governing Board of the San Millán de la Cogolla Foundation supervises any matter affecting the Monasteries. This Foundation represents all the groups involved in the preservation of the site (the Spanish Government, the Autonomous Government of La Rioja and the Recoleto Monks).

The restoration of the Refectory and Lighting of the Monastery of Yuso, concludes the works designed for these Monasteries in the Master Plan. Activities carried out by CILENGUA are expected to continue. The aim is to continue making of the Monasteries a centre of culture and visits with universal value, performing permanent preservation and protection work, and maintaining the monastic life. All of this is to be carried out with material resources provided by the Government of Spain, the Autonomous Government of La Rioja and the benefactors (public and private companies and institutions) of the San Millan Foundation in the coming years.