CANDELARIA VIRGEN BASILICA

This basilica was built in 1949 by José Enrique Marrero Regalado, on the initiative of Domingo Pérez Cáceres, Archbishop of Güímar. It has three naves, a Mudejar-style roof and a 27-metre dome that crowns the transept crossing. At first glance, it is above all its 45-metre high central tower with a Canarian balcony that stands out. Its main chapel contains a statue of the Virgin of Candelaria, patron saint of the Canary Islands, as well as various murals by Martín González and a baptismal font from the sixteenth century. His site is associated with a legend. At the end of the 14th century, one hundred years before the conquest of Tenerife, a Gothic sculpture of the Virgin of Candelaria appeared on the coast of the Güímar valley and was venerated as a goddess by the Guanches under the name of Chaxiraxi. From 1526 this statue remained in the sanctuary built on the orders of Pedro Fernández de Lugo and disappeared during a flood in 1826. Dating from 1827, the current sculpture is the work of Fernando Estévez, a Tifeño artist. Each year, the basilica welcomes up to 5,000 pilgrims from all over the island. Their fountain adjoins the basilica. Next to the basilica is the convent of the Dominicans, priests of the basilica. At the very end of the pier, you will arrive at the cave of Archibinico or San blas, where the Guanches placed their virgin.