To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Prince of Asturias Foundation, a new award was established in 1990. It is completely different in nature to the Prince of Asturias Awards, and is called the Exemplary Town of Asturias Award.

It is limited in scope exclusively to the Principality of Asturias, and provides an annual reward to the towns and villages of this region that stand out "in the defence of the region's most noble values, its natural setting or its ecology, its historic, cultural or artistic heritage, or for undertaking community-based work or other manifestations of exceptional solidarity."

A Brief History of the Award

The annual award has proved itself to be a major success insofar as the participation of the whole region. This is undoubtedly because the Prince himself visits the prize-winning town every year, to spend a few hours with his people and to present them with the four million pesetas cash that comes with the award. The government of the Principality of Asturias has contributed towards the expenses arising from the organisation of the award's presentation since 1991.

The award has its own jury, of some fifteen personalities taken from the region's social and cultural milieu, who are responsible for choosing the winning entry each year from amongst the candidates. They hold their meeting in June and the presentation is in the Autumn, coinciding with the visit of H.R.H. the Prince of Asturias to the region to present the Prince of Asturias Awards.