Favourite son

Birthplace and family home of Gijon's favourite son, Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos (1744-1811). Lawyer, politician, philosopher, reformer, man of letters and all round superhero as far as Gijon is concerned.

The building now houses the Jovellanos museum. Amongst other exhibits it contains a fabulous wooden sculpture 'Retablo del Mar' (1971) by the Asturian sculptor Sebastián Miranda. The subject is the old fish-market and each one of the the scores of people depicted in the sculpture depicts a real-life resident of Gijon's fishermans' quarter, Cimadevilla.