Plaza de la Candelaria

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Architecture · Subcategory: Squares, streets & markets · Year: Siglo XVII

This fundamental city space was formerly called Plaza Real, or del Castillo Grande, or de La Pila, then de la Constitución and later de la Candelaria, the name by which it has remained, making the others forgotten. In Torriani's late 16th-century map it appears as a vacant lot and seems to have been a predestined place for alarms, parades, troop gatherings and other military needs of the nearby castle of San Cristóbal. Around its perimeter, the houses first served as warehouses and stores and later were dedicated to offices and agencies, with residence of the owners. At the end of the 18th century all its houses had two or three floors, which shows the boom of this area at that time, given its proximity to the port, the main centre of business.

Since the beginning of the 17th century the main exporters and shipowners settled there. Renowned families such as Pereira de Castro, Salazar, Castro Ayala, Miranda, Rodríguez Carta, Porlier, Casalón, Villalba, La Hanty, Montañez and del Campo; in the following century it also hosted military commanders and in the 19th century the civil government itself.

It was a centre for meetings, demonstrations, walks, festive and religious celebrations and a place where edicts from the authorities were posted on two notice boards, one located on its side closest to the castle of San Cristóbal and the sea, and another at the upper part of the square.

The ornamentation of the place was nonexistent until 1706, when a water basin was placed in its centre, of which only a part remains and has been placed at the upper part of the enclosure, roughly where in 1759 a marble cross was installed under the commission of Bartolomé Antonio Méndez Montañez. The cross is currently located in the Plaza de la Iglesia. This same resident, a militia captain, commissioned around the same time another monument, this one of much greater significance, dedicated to the patron saint of the Islands, entitled El Triunfo de la Candelaria , erected at the lower part of the square, which gave it its name.

The square has undergone several reforms at different times. In 1860 the civil governor Joaquín Ravenet undertook the modification of its level with the aim of making it as horizontal as possible. This was achieved by lowering the ground at the upper part while filling its lower section, up to the Candelaria monument inclusive. In this way the great and uncomfortable slope disappeared, although now the unevenness was between its lower section, facing the dock and the castle. In 1864 about 14 stone benches with backs and arms were placed; and in 1889 the correct height was restored to the Candelaria monument, opening in front of it a staircase that allowed pedestrians direct access to the square.

During the 20th century the enclosure has been subject to new reforms and the appearance of the buildings changed as the years went by. Today only the Palacio de Carta remains from the original buildings. Behind are the surrounding houses whitewashed with lime and the ensemble of cafés with their groups, their gatherings and their bustle.

In 1986 the last major reform was carried out, pedestrianising the square and nearby streets, adapting the furniture and lighting. It was designed as a large open rectangular space that marked its uses through lines, variation of colours and sizes that conveyed the different pavement materials; but this had to be replaced by a much more homogeneous design, while safe for pedestrians.

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