Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Architecture · Subcategory: Religious architecture · Year: 1945 · Authors: José Enrique Marrero Regalado

The construction of this temple is due to the urban expansion of the city towards the south in the years immediately after the end of the Civil War. Located on the edge of the then newly opened Tres de Mayo avenue, the church became the nerve centre of the La Victoria neighbourhood, one of the new areas that welcomed the migratory flow to the capital caused by the incipient industrial activity of the Refinery. 

We do not know for certain the author of the religious complex project, but we dare to say, almost certainly, that it was the work of architect Marrero Regalado, as the building maintains a close parallel with others such as the Nuestra Señora de África market or the Casa-Cuna, both works by the Tenerife technician.

The church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán is built according to architectural guidelines of regionalist (neocanario) influences with historicist touches. On its façade we observe a portal with a semicircular arch highlighted by basalt stone mouldings. A Mudejar bell tower with decorative panels with lattices is crowned by baroque elements and a spire turret with a wrought iron cross.

Its spacious interior is divided into three naves, the central one being larger, separated by semicircular arches resting on pillars. It has a large presbytery and a transept covered by an octagonal dome. Initially, lacking a main altarpiece, the church had a set of murals and a small temple that housed the image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, now located in its altarpiece at the head of the Epistle nave.

The completion works of the religious building ended in November 1945, with the Carmelite friars taking possession of the parish three years later. Upon the arrival of the congregation, the parish house, located at the head of the temple, had to be expanded to become the convent, a work completed in 1955.

28.4589, -16.26012