 Doctor Francisco Layna Serrano of nearby Ruguilla had for years tried to save the monastery but had failed to interest the government in the expensive preservation proposal . Realizing that this was his last chance to document the place as its stones were being removed , he wrote a monograph of its history and included a site plan of the layout of buildings , written from memory . As a result of his efforts , on June 3 , 1931 , Santa María de Óvila was listed as a National Monument of Spain , or Bien de Interés Cultural ( Cultural Property ) . Layna Serrano published his monograph in 1932 . In 1933 , the monastery 's historic cartulary was brought to the University of Madrid and published ; the original was archived at the University of Oviedo . 
