The Plaza de la Patrona de Canarias (in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

''Square of the Saint Patron of the Canary Islands'') is a large

square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90-degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length adj ...

in Candelaria,

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

(

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

). It is next to the

Basilica of Candelaria The Basilica of the Royal Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Candelaria ( es, Basílica y Real Santuario Mariano de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria or simply ''Basílica de la Candelaria'') is a Roman Catholic minor basilica, the first Marian shrine ...

, a meeting place of pilgrims and festivities celebrating the most important of the municipality. In this square there are also various

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

s and

cafes A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

. This square is considered one of the "main squares" of the island of Tenerife, together with the

Plaza de España Plaza de España (Square of Spain) may refer to: In Spain * Plaça d'Espanya, Barcelona in Barcelona * Plaça d'Espanya (Palma) in Palma, Mallorca * Plaza de España, Madrid in Madrid * Plaza de España (Pontevedra) in Pontevedra * Plaza de Es ...

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife, commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz (), is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and capital of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz has a population of 206,593 (2013) within its admi ...

and the

Plaza del Cristo de La Laguna Plaza del Cristo de La Laguna is a square in the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna (on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain). It is one of the largest and most important squares of the Canary Islands. This square is considered one of t ...

San Cristóbal de La Laguna San Cristóbal de La Laguna (commonly known as La Laguna, ) is a city and municipality in the northern part of the island of Tenerife in the Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, on the Canary Islands, Spain. The city is the third-most populous ci ...

History

In the place where they built the place had an ancient beach, where stood the convent and the old church of

Virgin of Candelaria The Virgin of Candelaria or Our Lady of Candle ( es, Virgen de Candelaria or ''Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria''), popularly called ''La Morenita'', celebrates the Virgin Mary on the island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands (Spain). The cent ...

. In the center of the beach was the ''Castillo de San Pedro'', which was built in 1697. This castle was designed to defend the church and convent of pirate attacks and looting. The castle was virtually destroyed in the storm of November 1826, it was lost in the original image of the Virgin of Candelaria. After the start of construction of the Basilica of Candelaria in 1949 created the need to build a large square that frames the basilica esplanade taking advantage of the natural beach. The foundation work of the square began in the late 1950s. Finally, the square is inaugurated on January 31, 1959, by the Bishop of the

Diocese of Tenerife In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

Domingo Pérez Cáceres Domingo Pérez Cáceres (November 10, 1892, Güímar, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain) - August 1, 1961, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife) was a Spanish ecclesiastic, eighth Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna ...

Statues of the Guanches

On one side of the square are statues of the nine kings who ruled the nine aboriginal

Guanche Guanche may refer to: *Guanches, the indigenous people of the Canary Islands *Guanche language Guanche is an extinct language that was spoken by the Guanches of the Canary Islands until the 16th or 17th century. It died out after the conquest ...

mencey The Guanches were the indigenous inhabitants of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean some west of Africa. It is believed that they may have arrived on the archipelago some time in the first millennium BCE. The Guanches were the only native ...

atos, the pre-Castillian kingdoms of Tenerife. Currently, there are bronze statues at the locale. They replaced volcanic stone carvings, which were transferred to another avenue in the late 20th century. The menceyato statues were inaugurated on August 13, 1993 by the sculptor José Abad. These statues are: *

Acaimo Acaimo or Acaymo was a Guanche ''mencey'' of Tacoronte, on the island of Tenerife at the time of the Spanish conquest in the 15th century. He formed an alliance against the Spaniards with the ''mencey'' Beneharo and the ''mencey'' Bencomo. Biog ...

or Acaymo (mencey (''king'') of Menceyato de Tacoronte). *

Adjona Adjona, also written Adxoña or Atxoña was the Guanche mencey (king) of the Menceyato de Abona at the time of the conquest of Tenerife in the fifteenth century. Adjona normally lived in Vilaflor, in the territory of Abona, although the historia ...

: (mencey (''king'') of

Menceyato de Abona Abona was one of nine menceyatos guanches (native kingdoms) that has divided the island of Tenerife after the death of mencey Tinerfe, in the days before the conquest of the islands by the Crown of Castile. Occupied by the extension of existing m ...

). *

Añaterve Añaterve was the Guanche mencey (king) of Menceyato de Güímar at the time of the conquest of Tenerife in the 15th century. Kingship and European invasion Añaterve was the king of Güímar. This territory had an evangelizing mission since the m ...

: (mencey (''king'') of

Menceyato de Güímar The Guanches were the indigenous inhabitants of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean some west of Africa. It is believed that they may have arrived on the archipelago some time in the first millennium BCE. The Guanches were the only nativ ...

). *

Bencomo Bencomo (; 1438 – 1495) was the penultimate ''mencey'' or king of Taoro, a Guanche ''menceyato'' on the island of Tenerife. He fought in the First Battle of Acentejo, a victory for the Guanches against the invading Castilians, after having refu ...

: (mencey (''king'') of Menceyato de Taoro). *

Beneharo Beneharo was a Guanches, Guanche king of Menceyato de Anaga on the island of Tenerife. Beneharo made peace in 1492 with Lope de Salazar, who had been sent by the governor of Gran Canaria Francisco Maldonado. After a slave raid shortly after again ...

: (mencey (''king'') of

Menceyato de Anaga Anaga was one of the 9 menceyatos guanches (native kingdoms) in which was divided the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain) before the arrival of the conquering Spaniards. The area of the menceyato is now part of the municipalities of Sant ...

). * Pelicar: (mencey (''king'') of Menceyato de Adeje). * Pelinor: (mencey (''king'') of Menceyato de Icode). * Romen: (mencey (''king'') of Menceyato de Daute). *

Tegueste Tegueste is a town and a municipality of the northeastern part of the island of Tenerife in the Santa Cruz de Tenerife province, on the Canary Islands, Spain. It is surrounded by the municipality of San Cristóbal de La Laguna. The town Tegueste ...

: (mencey (''king'') of Menceyato de Tegueste).

References

External links

Points of interest in Candelaria's - official tourism website of CandelariaWebcam live from the Square of the Basilica of Candelaria
{{coord, 28, 21, 06, N, 16, 22, 12, W, region:ES_type:landmark_source:kolossus-eswiki, display=title Plazas in Tenerife