The Real de Las Palmas

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria · Category: Memory · Subcategory: Historic sites · Year: 1478

The city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria was originally founded on a camp, called Real de las Tres Palmas, set up by the forces of Juan Rejón on 24th June 1478 on the banks of the Guiniguada stream. Pedro Gómez Escudero describes the chosen site in the following way:

... It was a beautiful valley with huge numbers of palm, willow, fig and dragon trees, with water running constantly along the stream called Geniguada [...] This stretch of stream is about two or three stones' throw wide, where the Royal city was born, called Las Palmas...

At this point a fortress was erected, inside which a small church was built, dedicated to Santa Ana. This was probably made over an aboriginal house in which the first Holy mass was held, and which supposedly would have been sited around the back of the Cathedral. All the data points to it being built over or near to an aboriginal settlement, revealed in the Chronicle by Antonio Cedeño.

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