Parliament of the Canary Islands

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Architecture · Subcategory: Civil architecture · Year: 1883-86 · Authors: Manuel de Oraá

This building was designed by the architect Manuel Oráa to house the Santa Cecilia Society, a restricted club of musicians and enthusiasts characterised by its multifaceted work in the dissemination, teaching, and recreation of musical activities. In 1883, the society acquired the plot with the aim of installing its new headquarters there, which would include, besides the concert hall, classrooms, offices, and facilities for the orchestra. Construction was completed at the beginning of 1886.

The façade resembles a pagan temple. It has a stepped base fragmented by six Tuscan columns forming an atrium with three lintelled doorways, through which the building’s vestibule is accessed. Above the capitals is a magnificent entablature, composed of a smooth architrave, a frieze divided into triglyphs and metopes, and the cornice supporting the triangular pediment. The composition of this façade, with highlighted lateral bodies, facilitates the development of the front courtyard enclosed by a grille and simultaneously suggests interesting optical effects. 

Inside, the building contained a theatre for performances whose decorated ceiling was carried out thanks to Felipe Verdugo, who not only painted but coordinated a series of artists then beginning their careers (Bonnín, Crosa, Romero). The theme was the allegorical representation of Beethoven received by the genius of Glory on Olympus, with other notable musicians around him.

The society only had this building for three years, as it was auctioned due to the entity’s financial bankruptcy. Since then, the premises have served various functions: first as the Provincial Council, which converted the former theatre inside into a session hall, commissioning the painter Manuel González Méndez to create several canvases with historicist motifs. In 1902, the paintings “The Landing” and “The Adelantado and the Guanches” were hung on its walls.

When the Provincial Council became the Commonwealth of Inter-island Councils, it allowed the Court to occupy the rear part of the building, with trials held in the main hall. Later, in 1946, the premises became a Conservatory of Music, until in 1985 it was transformed into the seat of the Parliament of the Canary Islands.

28.467617, -16.252116