- Destinations
- Routes
- Events
Located in the nerve center of Puerto del Rosario, is the Nuestra Señora del Rosario parish church. This place of worship is one of the emblems of the capital of Fuerteventura, located between Calle León Castillo, Virgen del Rosario and the pedestrian crossing Primero de Mayo, also adjoining the Cabildo de Fuerteventura and the Government Delegation.
In Puerto del Rosario is a must-see, the church began to be built at the beginning of the 19th century, but it was not finished until 1932, after finishing the work it remained as it was Today is known.
Temple history begins in 1812 when the vice-consul of Fuerteventura, James Miller as he was called, Diego Miller Seroton, requested a license to the bishopric for the creation of a chapel or a place to pray. They enabled a room that was attended by a clergyman to lead the mass, this was the provisional temple. A few years passed the Bishop undertook to build a new temple and finally it was in the 1920s when the church works began in what is now known as Plaza de Nuestra Señora del Rosario.
Due to the successive plagues and famines that devastated the island the project was modified, in principle it was had intention to build two bell towers wavering a curved gable but finally it was rejected.
Until many years after the creation of the Board for the Enlargement and Repair of the Temple in 1929 the works that ended in 1932 were not retaken. The temple has a rectangular plan , of a single ship and roof to two waters and the plebistry differentiated in height to 4 waters.
The Interior is covered by a wooden structure, the altarpiece is a reproduction of what was previously.The central part is occupied by the image of Our Lady of the Rosary of the 19th century, there are other images like San José with the child and San Luis de Gonzaga. The church was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1990.
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.
Like many other religious centers on the island of Fuerteventura the Iglesia de San Miguel Arcángel of Tuineje built under the initiative of the villagers. This work begins in 1695 as a hermitage and a year later the bishop don Bernardo de Vicuña y Zuazo signed the decree authorizing the construction of the church. The work lasted several years and was finally completed in 1702 when it was opened to worship.
In its beginnings the church had a single nave, consisted of a sacristy and was surrounded by a crenellated wall, although it lacked a main chapel. Throughout the time the church had constant reforms, in 1764 the main chapel was built and later in 1782 the church was enlarged with a second nave, giving rise to the aspect it currently has. Noteworthy is its main altarpiece, made of wood and believed to have been carved by Juan Bautista Bolaños back in 1740.
The church has an image of San Miguel Arcángel
The San Diego hermitage is located in the villa of Betancuria, close to the vestiges of the old Franciscan church-convent of San Buenaventura The hermitage owes its name to Saint Diego de Alcalá who was a Franciscan friar who was a missionary in Canary Islands between 1441 and 1449 and who became guardian of the convent of Fuerteventura. During his stay, Saint Diego de Alcalá, he dedicated himself to the evangelization of the natives, coming to defend them from the Spanish conquerors.
It is known that the Hermitage of San Diego de Alcalá was built on a small cave to which San Diego retired to pray during the period that was destined on the island. The building that today is conserved was built for the most part in the second half of the seventeenth century, coinciding with the reconstruction of other buildings in Betancuria after the incursion of Xabán Arráez that devastated the city.
The hermitage of San Diego is a building of two naves with roofs to four waters and tiles, both ships are separated by pillars joined by an arch that support the wooden deck. Externally it is easily recognized since its façade is white and punctuated by edges that make the walls stand.
The pulpit of the Hermitage of San Diego is made of wood and is attached to the wall of the Gospel. It also has a toral arch supported by classic supports, with large plinths from which the columns emerge.
Another outstanding element is the baptismal font, located next to the central pillar and made in clear stonework. Inside the cave that is still preserved there is an altarpiece of reduced dimensions of wood with polychrome and golden finishes whose upper part is a niche shaped like a shell.The altarpiece is completed with decorations with wooden reliefs with a shield of territorial lords and plant motifs.