Dominican Convent of La Consolación

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Memory · Subcategory: Sites of memory · Year: 1620

The former convent of the Dominican friars of La Consolación, also known as the Convent of Santo Domingo, occupied the site where today stand two important buildings of present-day Santa Cruz: the Teatro Guimerá and the Centro de Arte La Recova.

The Dominicans were the first religious order to establish themselves permanently in Santa Cruz. The friars sought a place to stay overnight in the port of Santa Cruz, given their continuous journeys from their residence in La Laguna to the cathedral seat in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. They initially chose the small hermitage of La Consolación, located on the outskirts of the town since 1574, when it was installed there after the collapse of the original one, which had been located since the early days of the conquest on the site later occupied by the Castillo de San Cristóbal.

In 1610, the order's vicar requested the foundation of a convent in Santa Cruz. Ten years later, the works of the main chapel of the church were completed, which gradually expanded by adding chapels from its head to the feet. The temple came to have two large naves with six chapels, featuring some majestic altarpieces, highlighting the 17th-century gilded one that is preserved today in the Chapel of El Carmen of the Church of San Francisco.

As for the convent's premises, it was built on two floors. The main façade had a large wooden balcony in the Canarian style and was separated from the church by a stone wall on which the bell tower rose. Inside, the enclosure had a large cloister and a big orchard at the back.

The Convent of Santo Domingo or La Consolación was a place of importance in 17th and 18th century Santa Cruz. Inside it, Nelson's English troops took refuge after their landing in the city and from there they went out to sign their surrender at the Castillo de San Cristóbal.

At the beginning of 1837, after the confiscation, the entire religious complex of Santo Domingo became municipal property. In 1849 the convent was demolished and, the following year, the church. A huge free site remained to build two significant public buildings: the theatre and the municipal market.

28.465804, -16.250678