The Church of San Agustín

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria · Category: Architecture · Subcategory: Religious architecture · Year: 1786 · Authors: Diego Nicolás Eduardo

The Agustina order was given the go ahead to found their convent in Las Palmas in 1664, and it was to be sited at the former hermitage of Veracruz, on land which is today occupied by the church and the headquarters of Courts. Following its expropriation, it was set up as a parish by Bishop Codina in 1852.

Diego Nicolás Eduardo was behind the project for the church of San Agustín, in 1786, and nowadays it forms part of an extensive parish site. It was built on a single nave with two chapels, the Epístola and the Evangelio, that form a marked transept. The latest refurbishment entailed an additional nave to the south, housing the chapel of the Cristo de la Veracruz. At the foot of the side of the Evangelio is the Christening chapel, with a series of parish facilities distributed around the nave. The original structural cover has been preserved -which served as timbering for the new roof- as the 18th century dome had been dismantled. The façade is in neoclassical style and has a lintled doorway, fluted doorjambs and a rectangular gap on top with a simple molded curved crown. There is an attractive tower to the south, a remnant of the previous convent of San Agustín, dating from the 17th century, which is made up of an arched structure upon which another two cubicles are located, with the stairway inside. The belfry has curved arches and open row of balconies, rounded off by a spire. The whole building is made of quarry stone.

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