It is one of the smaller municipalities in Asturias in both area and population. Like the majority of the rural areas in Asturias, the population is receding. The highest point in the municipality is Grandamiana, at 813 m. Afterwards are Los Navalones at 756 and El Piantón at 750. Fifty-eight percent of the municipal area is between 400 and 800 meters high. Nearly a quarter of the area has a slope of more than 50%. The lowest point is along the Trubia River, at 140 meters. In addition to the Trubia, which crosses the territory from south to north, there are many small arroyos which flow into it, such as the Picarós, the Rebregáu, the Tresarcu and the Xanas. The latter flows along the Xanas Pass, which is one of the more beautiful sights in the area.
The municipality reached its highest population in the year 1900, with 1,747 inhabitants. Since then, the loss of population has been notable, as is the case in most Asturian mountain municipalities. The large part of the movement is due to the migration of many inhabitants to Oviedo, especially for working in the arms factory in Trubia parish. Currently, the majority of the population is over 40 years in age and there is little generational replacement, which causes the municipality to be the third smallest in Asturias in population. Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray id:darkgrey value:gray id:sfondo value:rgb id:barra value:rgb ImageSize = width:620 height:300 PlotArea = left: 60 bottom: 30 top: 20 right: 20 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:2000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:500 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:100 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar: 1842 text: 1842 bar: 1860 text: 1860 bar: 1877 text: 1877 bar: 1887 text: 1887 bar: 1900 text: 1900 bar: 1910 text: 1910 bar: 1920 text: 1920 bar: 1930 text: 1930 bar: 1940 text: 1940 bar: 1950 text: 1950 bar: 1960 text: 1960 bar: 1970 text: 1970 bar: 1980 text: 1980 bar: 1990 text: 1990 bar: 2000 text: 2000 bar: 2010 text: 2010 PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:center bar: 1842 from:1614 till: 0 bar: 1860 from:1445 till: 0 bar: 1877 from:1647 till: 0 bar: 1887 from:1859 till: 0 bar: 1900 from:1706 till: 0 bar: 1910 from:1687 till: 0 bar: 1920 from:1512 till: 0 bar: 1930 from:1211 till: 0 bar: 1940 from:1376 till: 0 bar: 1950 from:1200 till: 0 bar: 1960 from:933 till: 0 bar: 1970 from:647 till: 0 bar: 1980 from:447 till: 0 bar: 1990 from:407 till: 0 bar: 2000 from:319 till: 0 bar: 2010 from:248 till: 0 PlotData= bar: 1842 at: 1614 fontsize:S text: 1.614 shift: bar: 1860 at: 1445 fontsize:S text: 1.445 shift: bar: 1877 at: 1647 fontsize:S text: 1.647 shift: bar: 1887 at: 1859 fontsize:S text: 1.859 shift: bar: 1900 at: 1706 fontsize:S text: 1.706 shift: bar: 1910 at: 1687 fontsize:S text: 1.687 shift: bar: 1920 at: 1512 fontsize:S text: 1.512 shift: bar: 1930 at: 1211 fontsize:S text: 1.211 shift: bar: 1940 at: 1376 fontsize:S text: 1.376 shift: bar: 1950 at: 1200 fontsize:S text: 1.200 shift: bar: 1960 at: 933 fontsize:S text: 933 shift: bar: 1970 at: 647 fontsize:S text: 647 shift: bar: 1980 at: 447 fontsize:S text: 447 shift: bar: 1990 at: 407 fontsize:S text: 407 shift: bar: 2000 at: 319 fontsize:S text: 319 shift: bar: 2010 at: 248 fontsize:S text: 248 shift:
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Economy
The principal economic activity of the municipality is ranching, especially with cattle. The most common breed of cattle is the Asturiana de los Valles, which is bred for meat. Agriculture is generally practiced for subsistence. The industrial sector is practically zero, as the proximity of the arms factory in Trubia takes nearly all the workers. In contrast, the service sector employs 56% of the employed population, and has experienced growth in recent years due to activities related to the natural surroundings and its associated business.
Laureano Fernández Vázquez was a businessman born in Tuñón. Among his best-known achievements are that of completing Las Salesas complex in Oviedo, a combination of apartments and local businesses inaugurated on October 20, 1982. He later received the first international prize of commercial centers, given in Monaco.
Daniel Albuerne was a writer born in Santo Adriano de Villanueva. Although he began a religious career, he quickly abandoned it and received degrees at Minas. He worked in Madrid newspapers such as El Correo Español and Patria y Letras, and those of Oviedo such as El Correo de Asturias and La Opinión. He also collaborated in Latin American publications, both in Spanish and Asturian.
Gutierre de Tuñón, or García de Tuñón, was a 16th-century seaman, who was one of the four Asturians who joined Magellan on the expedition which discovered the Magellan Strait. The expedition crossed over half of the world, visiting the coast of South America, and crossed much of the Pacific Ocean and discovering the Bismarck Islands, the Marshall Islands, and other archipelagoes, and was one of the first to explore New Guinea, which was discovered in 1525 by the Portuguese Jorge de Meneses.
Art
The most notable building in the municipality is the temple of Santo Adriano de Tuñón, which was ordered built by Alfonso III of Asturias and his wife the queen Jimena in 891. The church is dedicated to the martyrs Adriano and his wife Natalia. It was restored in 1108 and 1949, and was declared a National Historical Monument in 1931. It is in a basilica plan, divided into three naves which are connected by arches, with a large portico in one large room. On the opposite side is a cemetery. The construction techniques include masonry and ashlar. The other notable structure is the "Roman" bridge across the Trubia River, which dates from the medieval period. It consists of a 1.5-m-high arch and is 4 meters wide between railings.
