Consuls. British, J. E. Crocker; vice-consul, R. C. Griffiths.—United States, S. Berliner.
English Church in the upper part of the town; service in winter.
English Club (also for temporary members), adjoining the Governor’s Palace (p. [35]).
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, a fortified seaport with 30,300 inhab., and the capital of the island since 1821 when it superseded Laguna, lies picturesquely in 28° 28′ N. lat. and 16° 15′ W. long., on a bay 3 M. broad between the Valle del Bufadero (p. [36]) and the Barranco de Santos, below the spurs of the Anaga Mts. and the plateau of Laguna. Its beautiful patios, or courtyards, recall those of Seville and the flat roofs with their miradores, or belvederes, are reminiscent of Cadiz. The harbour is entered by 3500–4000 vessels per annum. At Regla, to the S. of the town, is a wireless telegraph station.
The town was heroically defended in 1797 against the British fleet under Nelson, who lost his arm here and had to retire after heavy loss. Near the old Citadel (now Cuartel Almeida; Pl. C, 1) stands the saluting battery. The old Castillo de San Cristóbal (Pl. C, 2, 3) now contains public offices.
From the Alameda de la Marina (Pl. C, 2), near the landing-place, we soon reach the Plaza de la Constitución (Pl. B, C, 3) to the S.W., with the Governor’s Palace (Gobierno Civil; Pl. 5, B 2; fine patio), the club-houses, and the cafés (p. [34]). On the side next the sea rises the Triunfo de la Candelaria, a column in honour of the Virgin, the tutelary saint of the Canaries (p. [36]), erected by the Spaniards as a memorial of their victories, with four Guanche kings as worshippers.
From the S. side of the Plaza de la Constitución the Calle de la Cruz Verde leads to the Iglesia de la Concepción (Pl. B, 3), the principal church in the town, consisting of a nave with double aisles, and situated close to the Barranco de Santos. It was founded early in the 16th cent., but was rebuilt after a fire in 1652. The tower, 181 ft. high, affords an extensive panorama.
Interior. The central chapel of the aisle on the left contains two flags captured from Nelson’s fleet (see above), of which the town is very proud. Here too, by the high-altar, is a stone cross originally erected outside by Al. Fernandez de Lugo (p. [37]) in 1494 as a memorial of his victories. The pulpit, in Italian marble, is by Matias Rodriguez (18th cent.). The burial chapel of the artist (entered to the right of the high-altar) contains several pretty, but unfinished carvings in juniper-wood.
Near this is the Mercado (Pl. B, 3), a covered market for fruit and other commodities (worth visiting in the early morning).
From the N.W. angle of the Plaza de la Constitución the Calle San Francisco leads, a few yards farther on, to the church of San Francisco (Pl. 6, B, 2), built in 1680. The tower, inlaid with azulejos, or ornamental tiles, dates from 1777.