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This month we focus on the inland town of La Laguna Situated on the shores of a lake which dried up over the last century, La Laguna (the lagoon) is placed in the beautiful countryside of the Augure Valley just inland from Santa Cruz.
In
1496 a settlement of soldiers and civilians grew up around the
Church of La Conception which still stands today.The Church
of La Conception is the site of the first Corpus Christi festivals
on the islands, its millstone tower is the most The original settlement which later became known as Villa de Arriba only lasted 3 years due to the muddy waters almost constantly flowing down the valley destroying buildings and making the place unhealthy. The then governor Alonzo Fernandez de Lugo had the idea of creating a court with the leading families which led to the building of La Laguna. A thriving city gradually and carefully took shape. The design of the streets built on a then unique grid system with surprising precision. La Laguna is now most famous for three reasons. - Firstly, is its military aspect. Right from the start there has been a military presence in La Laguna, originally it was the men that took part in the conquest of Tenerife but a military presence has been maintained over the years at varying levels and the official residence of the Captain General of the Canary Islands was transferred here in 1723. Next, it is the religious centre of the island. Walking through the streets of La Laguna you cannot help but be impressed by the amount of religious buildings and statues. Other than the afore mentioned Church of La Conception you can find the Church of San Benito Abad where the faithful pilgrimage on the first Sunday of July in honour of the Patron Saint of farmers and crops; the Cathedral, built over the former church of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, full of beautiful carvings and architecture dating to the 17th century; the convent of Santa Catalina, a convent of cloistered nuns where once a year on the 15th February the doors are opened to show the faithful the uncorrupted body of the sister Maria de Jesùs de Leòn Delgado (1643 - 1731); the Sanctuary Del Cristo containing one of the most worshipped figures in Tenerife, a gothic style carving of El Cristo de La Laguna; the churches of San Miguel and Santo Domingo de Guzman both built in the early 1500´s and many many more churches, temples and cloisters for Christians, Franciscans and Jesuits.
Over
to coming months, we will be building up a picture of Tenerife
so why not visit other areas? |
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Its
population of over 125,180 and its historical background are
only some of the reasons it is Tenerife's second most important
city, with Santa Cruz being the first. La Laguna is the old
capitol and the seat of the Adelantados (Governors of the Island),
as well as the cultural and religious capitol of Tenerife due
to the fact it homes the San Fernando University and the provinces
Bishopric.
representative
symbol of La Laguna and the church itself holds a rich artistic
heritage inside its walls including a 15th century Sevillian
baptismal font brought to the island by the first Governor and
used to baptise the first three Guanches of Tenerife.
Finally,
La Laguna has always been a centre of learning. It had a school
right from the early days, which was extended to cover several
areas of learning and studies. This was provided by the clergy
until the University of San Fernando de La Laguna was built
in 1927. Not only schools and Universities feature in this fascinating
town but many museums and cultural centres as well for example,
History and Historic Archive Museum, Museum of Sacred Art, Museum
of the Slavery of Christ, Museum of Mankind and Nature, the
Photography Centre, Museum of Anthropology and the Museum of
Science and the Cosmos.
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