Teguise

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Teguise was the former capital of Lanzarote, from the first half of the 15^th Century down to the second half of the 19^th Century (in 1852), when it relinquished virtually all power in favour of the new capital, Arrecife. Teguise was the largest early civilian and urban centre during the 15^th Century in the Canary Islands, rising up on the former native inhabited zone known as Acatife or Big Village.

Throughout thecourse of its rich past it was the noble seigneurial city, first under the Bethancourt dynasty and later under the Herreras, during both of which periods the city lived through times of splendour. Declared a city of architectural-historical-artistic interest, it is one of the oldest cities and one which has played one of the noblest and most famous roles in the history of Lanzarote.

The city´s heritage is divided between its narrow pave streets and its traditional noble houses, in which we can contemplate various details of the most characteristic features of tipically seigneurial and aristocratic buildings.

Teguise is the island´s largest municipality, running from the east an west coasts and including one of the Canary Islands´principal best-developed and best planned tourist zones, called Costa Teguise, which has from the outset opted for becoming a zone offering considerable quality of services.

Amongst the most admirable and recommendable monuments and palaces are the Palacio de los Spínola, the Convent of San Francisco, the hermitage of San Rafael, the Church of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, the Convent of Santo Domingo and the Castle of Santa Bárbara, in Guanapay mountain, which reflect and give a clear idea of the influence it exercised as a cultural, religious and court centre.