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The writer and professor at the University of Salamanca don Miguel de Unamuno was confined to the island of Fuerteventura due to his confrontations with the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera for criticism of the political situation in Spain. Unamuno lived for 4 months in Fuerteventura and more than a punishment, his stay on the island turned the writer into a gift. He became friends with many inhabitants, especially with the intellectual Ramón Castañeyra with whom he enjoyed social gatherings at the writer's house.
This house is located in Puerto del Rosario, in front of the church of the town. The building was once a hotel, it was hosted by Professor Miguel de Unamuno after the banishment order. This House-Museum has the objective of spreading the work that the playwright produced in Fuerteventura. The house is a construction that has all the details of Canarian domestic architecture of the early twentieth century. It has access hall to the house, rooms that overlook a central courtyard with water tank that collects rainwater.
During his stay, the writer delved into Fuerteventura in his vision of a Spain Quixotic; the narrowness of Malpaís, the fauna and flora or the sea will be universal elements integrated into your thinking. In many of his writings is reflected the footprint that the island was for his work and how it connected with his metaphysical and aesthetic thinking.
Miguel de Unamuno called the hotel that ran Paco Medina, his innkeeper and there were many gatherings with friends from the Canary Islands and the Peninsula. , Francisco López, official, the fisherman Antonio Hormiga, the parish priest Victor San Martín or the aforementioned Ramón Castañeyra were some of the friendships that were part of the animated talks.
The Basque writer had an intense activity, discover Canarian authors, write articles, start the sonnets that will appear in his work From Fuerteventura to Paris. For a better knowledge of the figure of the writer, you just have to visit the House-Museum.
One of the most emblematic buildings that are preserved in La Oliva is the Casa de Los Coroneles. This building is located on a plain known as the colonel's rose, flanked by the Pájaro's back, the mountain of the Fronton, the mountain of Escanfraga and the Volcano of the Arena.
The House of the Colonels was declared Historical Artistic Monument in June 1979, shortly after it became considered as Property of Cultural Interest In 2005 it was restored to dedicate the facilities to cultural activities being inaugurated in November 2006.
The construction of the Casa de los Coroneles dates from the 17th century, destined to be the official residence of the coronelato that had seigniorial power during this time. The building took as a model the Canarian domestic housing typical of the Modern Age. On the façade we can see a series of 8 wooden balconies that stand out, completed by another closed on a side facade, all with the Canarian style that characterizes the architecture of the archipelago.
This civic-military complex is divided into five spaces that are interconnected: Plaza de armas, traditional buildings, stables, esplanade of acts and the colonel's rose.
The exterior façade stands out for having a series of symmetrical openings in the two floors, with quarter windows in the lower part and balconies discovered in the upper part.The central part of the house is a catenary and even today it keeps the family coat Cabrera (Colonel Ginés de Cabrera Bethencourt and his family lived in it), the laterals They have two crenellated towers, one of the most outstanding features of military buildings.
The house of the Coroneles is a clear example of the importance of La Oliva, a perfect place to learn more about the history of this town.
The importance of transportation to the island of La Palma has always been vital, so there is the possibility of visiting the Naval Museum of Santa Cruz de la Palma. The museum is located very close to the Castle of the Virgin, but the most curious thing is that it is aboard The Boat of the Virgin of the Snows, a reproduction of the skull of Cristóbal Columbus that led him to discover America back in 1492. The ship that is now a naval museum has become one of the symbols of the city, which undoubtedly has a seafaring tradition of centuries.
It should be noted that the Naval Museum of Santa Cruz de La Palma has an important collection of objects such as navigational charts, instruments that served the ancient sailors to orientate themselves in high sea, models, graphic documentation, journalistic documentation with an important historical value and large amount of naval material that has been used throughout history.
The collection of elements found in the naval museum is endless, figureheads, logbooks, riparian carpentry tools and many documents that show the importance of navigation for the island.
Located in the Llanos de Aridane is the Archaeological Museum of Benahoarita is one of the essential places to visit in the municipality. The archaeological heritage of La Palma is very important and one of the most interesting in the Canary archipelago. Benahoarita has an important collection of objects and aims to rehabilitate and recover the archaeological heritage of the island.
The museum has dimensions of about 450 square meters dedicated to its permanent exhibition of benahoaritas, recreating its habitat, customs, games, industries of ceramics, lithics, legends and much more. It is worth highlighting the more than 200 rock engraving stations that are distributed by a multitude of points of the insular geography, from the coast itself to high points of the island.
The Museum of Los Benahoaritas also has a room that is dedicated to temporary exhibitions and a third room where you can find many objects that were donated by individuals and that contribute to the growth of the funds of the museum.
The Museum also has a small auditorium where talks, offices and a room for the study and research of archaeological pieces take place. A very complete center that aims to keep alive the history of the island of La Palma.
Puerto del Rosario is also known by the name of the City of Sculpture. It receives this name due to the sculptural park that compose more than 100 sculptures and that are located in many places of public of the city.
The large number of sculptures that populate all the points of Puerto del Rosario turns the city into an open-air museum. Since the beginning of the year 2000 many artists have looked for a corner of this city to exhibit some of their works. Strolling through the capital of Fuerteventura you can find all kinds of sculptures, from characters like Unamuno, Suso Machín or Manuel Velázquez going through animals like goats or stonechat and reaching symbolic forms as sirocco.
The sculptures distributed by Puerto del Rosario are a tribute to popular customs and customs, to the culture of the island and, in general, to the inhabitants of this special place. You can start from the sculpture that is in La Explanada, which is the historic center from which the city began to grow, it was here where the main pier and the small dock were located. This is called La Fuente de la Explanada.
From here begins the tour that will take all visitors to find in each corner of Puerto del Rosario wonderful artistic works. For example Caracolas, a set of 4 sculptures signed by Juan Bordes, between the commercial dock and La Explanda. Other outstanding works can be Pescador de Viejas, made in granite from the Betancuria area of the artist Juan Miguel Cubas. Offering to the Sea belongs to the artist Demetrio Martín, in Barrio de Negrín, right at the seafront.
Continuing we can find Tribute to the Moon from Rinaldo Paluzzi, Skeleton of A Whale, A Tropical Whale that forms part of the project La Senda de los Cetacáceos, which emerges from the collaboration between the Cabildo de Fuerteventura and the Canarias Conservación association. Overseas Baggage from Eduardo Úrculo, or Las Cabras from Emiliano G. Hernandez. So up to about 130 works of art scattered on the street.