La Victoria de Acentejo

The Hermitage of Santo Domingo is located in the municipality of La Victoria de Acentejo, in the past the temple was known as the convent of Santo Domingo. The chapel dates back to the 17th century and conserves even a traditional Canarian winepress that served to obtain wine. The masonry of its facade is undoubtedly one of the most remarkable attractions of this construction along with the simple half-point stonework cover. Inside the Ermita de Santo Domingo you can see a crucifix that comes from the old Franciscan convent that was in the Villa de la Orotava and he was saved from a fire as well as a dress imgane of the Virgen del Rosario. The old convent served as a resting place for the Dominican friars who traveled between Santa Cruz and the Lower Island. It was at the end of the 19th century when the facilities were adapted for a school attended by the children of the most humble families in the area. Currently the Hermitage of Santo Domingo has a home, the hermitage itself, a warehouse and the board of education.

The old Convent of Santo Domingo is located next to the hermitage of the same name. The building was built in 1657, together with the hermitage and was founded by Pedro de Ponte y Molina, located on the Santo Domingo street, which was the former Camino de los Guanches. The convent of Santo Domingo was a very busy place and served as a stop and inn for the Dominican friars that ranged from Santa Cruz to the Isla Baja. In the nineteenth century the convent passed into the hands of the Conde del Palmar and a board was created to teach children from disadvantaged families and did not have the financial resources to receive education. Today the convent has a house of mediators in addition to the adjoining hermitage, the board of education and a warehouse. It should also be noted that the facilities of the former convent of Santo Domingo have a perfectly preserved winery unique in the Canarian archipelago.

The Victoria de Acentejo has among the highlights the Ethnographic Museum, a building with traditional Canarian architecture very well preserved and perfect to know many of the customs of the inhabitants of this municipality. The Ethnographic Museum reveals the culture and tradition of La Victoria de Acentejo through exhibitions and exhibitions of various artisan works such as Pottery, draft, works in palm and traditional clothing. The museum is distributed between two buildings where, as mentioned, the Canarian architecture is the protagonist that is also found in the recreational area of El Palmeral. A place of obligatory visit where you can know in depth the uses and customs of La Victoria.

The most important religious temple of La Victoria de Acentejo is the Church of Our Lady of La Encarnación. The importance of the Church is remarkable, so much so that the Government of the Canary Islands declared the Our Lady of the Incarnation temple as Asset of Cultural Interest in the category of Monument in December 1985. The church was built in 1537, at the express wish of Alonso Fernández de Lugo after struggling in the conquest of the island he swore to build a temple in the area and so he did. In 1589 the Church of Our Lady of the Incarnation was destroyed after a fire, so it had to be rebuilt, so it was used to make improvements and expand it. The coffered ceiling that houses the church is one of the most valuable elements that houses the temple, one of the most important of the Canarian archipelago and of Mudejar style and with a very interesting decoration. We must also mention the image of Our Lady of Los Angeles and that belongs to the Italian school of the late sixteenth century, also retaining a San Matías it comes from the peninsula and dates from the 17th century, a silver custody by Alonso Sosa and another brought from Mexico and the Processional Cross and a painting by the artist Gaspar de Quevedo.

At the back of the Church of Our Lady of the Incarnation in Victoria de Acentejo is the Pino Centenario de La Victoria. Pulling the historical writings known as Battle of the Victory of Acentejo happened on December 25, 1495, Alonso Fernández de Lugo and his troop celebrated a mass under a pine, after winning the same Alonso Fernández decided to build a hermitage under the title of Queen of Los Angeles with the title of La Victoria next to the pine. 500 years later there is still the pine tree under which the mass was celebrated and since then it has been guarding the temple. A symbol of the municipality that saw how to defeat Los Guanches and that has survived the passage of time.

Among the best-known buildings in La Victoria de Acentejo is the Casa de Deán Calzadilla. In this house lived Nicolás de Calzadilla which was Dean of the Holy Cathedral Church of the Canary Islands. The Deán was born on August 17, 1807 in La Victoria and in 1879 he settled in the town that saw him born in a house that belonged to his family, then moved to a manor house located in the back part of the Hermitage of San Juan, is what today is part of the municipal heritage. Currently in Casa del Dean Calzadilla is being refurbished to house the first rural hotel in the municipality. The Dean House is located in the heart of the city.

The Ermita de San Juan is located in La Victoria de Acentejo, a temple that is being restored to try to restore the image it once had. The Hermitage of San Juan is located in the street of the same name and was founded by don Antonio Gonzáñez Calzadilla in 1726. It is characterized by being a temple of simple construction in which highlights the wooden door with a semicircular arch, on the main facade, and resting on two simple pillars. It has a gabled roof with Arabic tiles and has a small campanile with a cross in the center that is located on the left side of the hermitage. Inside the temple we can see an image of San Juan Bautista, a wood carving of excellent quality that is believed to be from the 18th century. Another image that houses the hermitage is that of San Nicolás de Bari and that was placed by the Calzadilla family.

The Calvary of Victory is located in the municipality of La Victoria de Acentejo, in what a few years ago was a temple of classical style with a decoration in its very traditional Canarian interior. The building in which the Calvary of Victory was located was destroyed was replaced by the one that can be seen today. Inside there is a small sculptural group of great historical value.