Laguna Catedral

The Catedral de San Cristóbal de La Laguna, also called the Cathedral of Our Lady of Remedies, is an important religious site in the Canary Islands. It stands in the centre of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, a UNESCO World Heritage city in Tenerife, and is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna. The story of the site goes back to 1511, soon after Tenerife was conquered, when a small hermitage was built there. The area is thought to have been an ancient Guanche burial ground. A Mudejar-style church replaced the hermitage in 1515, and after centuries of expansion it became a cathedral in 1819. By the late 19th century the building was in ruins. Most of what stands today was rebuilt from 1904 to 1915, while retaining the earlier 19th-century Neoclassical façade. The architecture brings together several styles. Its white Neoclassical exterior, built in 1820 and inspired by Pamplona Cathedral, is set against dark volcanic stone and has elegant columns. Inside, the 20th-century rebuilding created a Neo-Gothic feel, with three wide aisles, ribbed vaults and a concrete dome. At 41.5 metres, the dome is the highest point in the old town. It is also the only cathedral in the Canary Islands with an ambulatory, the curved passage behind the high altar often found in large European cathedrals. Among its treasures are a Carrara marble pulpit by Genoese sculptor Pasquale Bocciardo, often considered one of the cathedral’s finest works, and a Baroque altar to the Virgen de los Remedios, patroness of the city and island. The cathedral also holds the remains of Alonso Fernández de Lugo, who conquered Tenerife and founded the city, along with relics of local saints including Saint José de Anchieta, the “Apostle of Brazil,” and Saint Pedro de San José de Bethencourt.