The church of La Asunción was likely built in the last decades of the twelfth century. Just a few kilometers away is the small hermitage of San Pelayo (known for its Romanesque paintings). The documentary sources do not clearly distinguish between these institutions making concrete dating difficult. The foundation date of 1186 is given for a "monastery of San Pelayo" and though La Asunción is dedicated to Mary rather than Pelayo it seems much more likely to have been able to accommodate a monastic community than the tiny hermitage (García Guinea, 1961). 

 

Later reconstructions have obscured much of the original Romanesque plan, though the original building seems to have had three-aisles. Today all that remains are the central apse, tower, and south portal. The portal is decorated with a figural archivolt and four capitals. People engaging in various professions and actions populate the archivolt. Among them we can see many musicians, a pair dueling, and a monk-scribe being divinely inspired.