Molino de Antigua

It is known that mills began to be built on the island of Fuerteventura in the 18th century, and many have now been preserved, specifically in the town of Antigua. the most interesting and you can visit. The conservation of the mills is a tribute to the legacy of traditional culture on the island, it is to highlight the importance that this type of construction was for the development of the population that inhabited these places.

In Fuerteventura rainfed agriculture mainly predominated, cereals such as wheat and barley were the cornerstone on which the sector was sustained, such was the importance of crops that the island was considered the granary of the Canary Islands. Harvests harvested in Fuerteventura supplied other islands, such as Tenerife, Gran Canaria and La Palma.

Antigua had large extensions dedicated to the cultivation of cereal so that much of the production was exported to other parts of the archipelago. In order to grind this grain, mills such as Antigua were built and today they are preserved in great detail.

This construction is made with strong masonry walls, divided into three floors and four blades, with the roof of the cone-shaped mill. El Molino de Antigua is fully restored, on the third floor you can see the cogwheel that turns the blades by the force of the wind. The blades are perfectly oriented so that the trade winds rotate the rotor, you could even turn the conical roof to guide them to other winds. While the lower floor was used to store utensils and tools.

The mill currently belongs to the Network of Centers and Museums of the Cabildo de Fuerteventura and also houses the facilities of the Museo del Queso with its own shop where to be able to acquire different types of these delicacies.