Hermitage of Regla

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Architecture · Subcategory: Religious architecture · Year: 1643

The hermitage of Regla was founded in 1643 by the Cabildo of La Laguna to meet the religious needs of the personnel of the nearby castle of San Juan, a fortress built a few years earlier in one of the most remote areas of the town on its southern side, in what was then known as the road of Las Cruces or del Calvario.

The image of Our Lady of Regla was possibly donated by the Indies trade pilot Domingo Díaz Virtudes, who in 1666 left a legacy of four thousand reales for the hermitage in his will.

In the 18th century its main benefactor was Matías Rodríguez Carta, who enlarged the chapel and sacristy, improving the materials and ornaments.

The place was always very far from the town centre and was often chosen for burials during epidemics or as a place of executions. Such was the case of the execution of Ángel García Cabeza de Perro, a pirate famous for his cruelty. 

In 1898, during the Cuban War, the hermitage was used as a military depot. Later it was adapted as a school for the neighbouring district of Los Llanos, and in the 20th century it was refurbished after a major renovation to serve its original function again.

The building has suffered almost total alteration as it has lost its original four-sided roof of Arabic tiles and the original bell gable. On the other hand, the levels of the surrounding roads have risen, leaving the building at a lower level, which causes serious problems when it rains heavily.

Although nothing remains around it of the old neighbourhood that once surrounded it, former residents and their descendants who now live in other areas travel every 8 September to the small hermitage to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Regla.

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