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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.
In the historic center of the municipality of Betancuria is the church of Santa María de Betancuria or Iglesia Matriz de la Concepción. Even though it is the least populated town in the Canary Islands, Betancuria keeps interesting treasures like this interesting religious building.
Historically the construction of what is now the Church of Santa María de Betancuria began at the beginning of the 15th century when the conquistadors who came to the island decided to erect a simple oratory to which to be able to go to comply with the religious precepts. Years later this small chapel was replaced by a larger one, already with the intention of converting it into the temple that remains today. It was sent to build by Jean de Bethencorut and Jean Le Maçon (literally Juan the Bricklayer) was commissioned to execute the work that was built following the canons of the French Gothic style of the fifteenth century.
In 1593 the church came to be destroyed by the Berber pirates who destroyed the town of Betancuria after being captained by the corsair Xabán Arráez. This contingent of more than 200 pirates looted all valuable items and left the area desolate.
In the 16th century, the reconstruction works of the temple began, but they did not finish until the last decade of the 17th century. During this reconstruction Gothic, Mudejar, Renaissance and Baroque elements were added.
The Church is a building divided into three naves with presbytery and chapels, the square tower is attached to the wall of the epistle by the feet of the temple.
Inside the temple, we must highlight the choir that is located at the foot of the main nave, made of wood, carved and polychrome.The floor is also an interesting element covered by slabs of stonework with crossing of wood slats that separate the slabs.
The pulpit is made of wood with symbols representing the Eucharist and the Apostles. Ambienta there is a lot of altarpieces inside: Christ Tied to the Column, Altarpiece of San Buenaventura, altarpiece of Souls or the Sacred Heart of Jesus among others.
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
In the Valley of Rio Palmas in the municipality of Betancuria is also the Hermitage and Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rock that is the patron saint of Fuerteventura. In this hermitage is venerated the Virgin of the Rock also known as La Peñita for being a small image.
Unlike other temples found in the Betancuria villa, this is a single nave. The façade of the hermitage is of a class style and is made of stone, this element is noble and is used very little in buildings of this type, which demonstrates the importance of this site.
Among the elements to be highlighted in the Ermita de Nuestra Señora de la Peña is the semicircular arch surrounded by plinths decorated with coffered ceilings and capitals that houses an empty tympanum fronton.
The hermitage as it is known today was built during the eighteenth century by agreement of the residents of Fuerteventura who decided to build a new temple in honor of the patron saint of the island, these works were extended for 11 years , between 1705 and 1716 and ended on August 26.
The Hermitage of Our Lady of La Peña was declared a historical-artistic monument of intestes for the autonomous community of Canarias in 1985. The Hermitage also has three altarpieces and sculptures in which they are represented Saint Lucia, San Lorenzo, San Sebastián and already mentioning Our Lady of La Peña who presides over the temple.
With regard to the Virgen de la Peña is one of the oldest of the Canary Islands and the most remote of the 7 patrons of the archipelago, the image dates from the fifteenth century and was not until the mid-sixteenth was proclaimed lawyer and defender of Fuerteventura.
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.
Betancuria stands out as one of the least populated towns in the Canary Islands, but has many places of interest and religious buildings of remarkable artistic importance. The Chapel of Santa Inés is another of the temples that are distributed in the municipality, specifically this is located in the Valley of Santa Inés.
The hermitage of Santa Inés is a single-nave construction, with a square floor plan that has a side sacristy with a quadrangular floor plan and no separate chapel. There is evidence that the sanctuary already existed in 1586, believing that it receives the name of Santa Inés because it was sent to be built by Doña I nés Peraza, who together with her husband, Diego García de Herrera they bore the lordship of Fuerteventura in the 15th century.
The hermitage also suffered looting during the invasion of the corsair Xaban Arráez, since there were few people defending the temple they also ransacked the premises with a chasuble, a wooden cross gilded, some white ciriales together with some images of the virgin.
The hermitage also received some improvements over the years, in the eighteenth century a new pavement with stone was installed, in addition the sacristy was added of 5.8 by 5.8. The last restoration that the hermitage received was carried out in 2011, among the elements that were arranged, it is worth mentioning the natural stone pavement that was installed to facilitate access to the temple and in this way enhance the presence of the building much more. For the construction of the walls we used whitewashed masonry that alternates with the stonework that is used in corner and vain blocks.
The temple is completed inside with 2 altars also of stonework and lime in which are the Ánimas and the Virgen de los Dolores.