The town of Maliayo was founded by King Alfonso X in 1270 in the context of his policy of repopulating the Cantabrian strip (passing in 1277 to have its current name of Villaviciosa). The town was walled, the interior space being organized around two main streets (del Sol and del Agua), next to which there were various noble houses and the church of La Oliva. Villaviciosa had a pilgrim hospital, called Sancti Spiritus, of which there is news from the 15th to the 19th century, although its previous foundation is likely. The hospital, large for the Asturian context, was located on Calle del Sol, in a place where the Graduate Schools now stand, next to the Church of La Oliva. The hospital had twelve beds in the 18th century, abundant bedding, a kitchen and a chapel. Dozens of testimonies relating to the death in this hospital of pergrins of very diverse origins, especially French, Germans and Italians, are reflected in the documentation (parish records books).