Cultural Heritage of Fuerteventura: BICs and Historical Sites

Fuerteventura is home to a rich cultural heritage, including Bienes de Interes Cultural (BICs) recognized by the Spanish government and the Canary Islands. From the north in the municipality of La Oliva, notable sites include:

1. Barranco de los Encantados: This site, declared a BIC in 2008, holds significance in paleontology, geology, landscape, and history.
2. Barranco de Tinojay: Recognized as an archaeological asset in 2006, it features engravings depicting the historical maritime presence on Fuerteventura.
3. Archaeological Zone of the Barranco del Cavadero: This area, discovered in the 1980s, showcases rock engravings revealing insights into the pre-European phase of Fuerteventura, particularly the society of the mahos.

These cultural assets offer visitors a compelling glimpse into the historical and natural heritage of Fuerteventura.

4. The Casa de los Coroneles (photo above) is classified as a monument, is located in the municipality of La Oliva and is a clear example of Majorera vernacular architecture.
The Cabrera Bethencourt family built this building in the second half of the 17th century with the clear intention of making the Casa de los Coroneles the center of their power made up of land holdings.
Externally the crenelated towers stand out, while inside there is a large patio connected by various rooms.
There are, among others, stables, barns and warehouses.

5. Castillo de El Cotillo (Torre de Nuestra Señora del Pilar y San Miguel o Torre del Tostón)

I believe that almost everyone who has been to El Cotillo has seen the tower that juts out over the sea, not far from the marina.
The Torre de Tostón was the work of the engineer D. Claudio d L’Isle, who died in Fuerteventura shortly before completing the fortifications that he had started, which were this one in El Cotillo and the one located in Caleta de Fuste.

6. Castillo de Fuste or Torre de San Buenaventura

The Caleta Tower is part of the island’s monuments and belongs to the Municipality of Antigua.
Since until the eighteenth century Fuerteventura did not have any building or fortification capable of protecting the island from enemy attacks, this was one of the first to be created for this purpose.
With a decree dating back to April 22, 1949 on the protection of Spanish Castles, the Torre de San Buenaventura has become an asset of cultural interest of Fuerteventura and Spain.

7. The lime kilns of Guirra ( Conjunto de Hornos de Cal de la Guirra)

The exploitation of lime in Fuerteventura dates back to the 17th century. However, it was between the end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century that a large number of lime kilns were built, especially in coastal areas, such as those of La Guirra.
The complex is located at the mouth of the Barranco de Miraflor and consists of three ovens, a warehouse, a house-dwelling and a cistern with a capacity of approximately 300 cubic meters.
Belonging to the Municipality of Antigua, the ovens were declared a monument of cultural interest with a decree dated May 6, 1999.

8. Cueva de Villaverde

It was discovered in 1979. It is a volcanic tube about 190 meters long. The study has provided valuable information on the way of life of the ancient inhabitants of the island, who used this type of formation both as a home and as a burial site.

Hermitages ( part of cultural heritage) of Fuerteventura

9. Ermita de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Agua de Bueyes)
   • Simple construction with expansion work in 1718.
     
10. Ermita de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad. Tindaya

• Whitewashed exterior, with a millstone bell tower.

11. Ermita de Nuestra Señora de La Concepción. Llanos de La Concepción

• Built between 1784 and 1796, with subsequent restructuring.

12. Ermita de Nuestra Señora de la Merced. El Time

• Built from 1670.

13. Ermita de Nuestra Señora de La Peña. Vega de Río Palmas

• Built between 1705 and 1716.

14. Ermita de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores y San Miguel Arcángel

• Completed in 1808.

15. Ermita de Nuestra Señora de Puerto Rico (La Capellanía)

• Built with the help of local inhabitants.

16. Ermita de Nuestra Señora del Buen Viaje. El Cotillo

• Founded in 1680.

17. Ermita de Nuestra Señora del Socorro. La Matilla

• Blessed in 1714.

18. Ermita de San Agustín. Tefía

• Blessed in 1714.

19. Ermita de San Antonio de Padua, Toto

• Built in 1795.

20. Ermita de San Antonio de Padua, Lajares

• Built around the 18th century.

21. Ermita de San Francisco Javier (Las Pocetas)

• Blessed in December 1775.

22. Ermita de San Isidro, Triquivijate

• Built in 1715.

23. Ermita de San José de Tesejerague

• It dates from the first half of the 18th century.

24. Ermita de San Marcos Evangelista en Tiscamanita

• Data del siglo XVII.

25. Ermita de San Pedro de Alcántara. La Ampuyenta

• Fundada en 1681.

26. Ermita de San Pedro y San Juan. Vallebrón

• Date of the XVII century.

27. Ermita de San Vicente Ferrer. Villaverde

• Presumably from the 18th century.

28. Ermita de Santa Inés. Valle de Santa Inés

• It dates from 1580, with reconstruction in 1669.

29. Ermita de San Roque. Valle Ortega

• Date of the XVII century.

30. Ermita de Santo Domingo de Guzmán. Tetir

• Data from 1778, with modernizations in the same year.

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Cultural events ( part of cultural heritage) of Fuerteventura

31.Fiestas Juradas de San Miguel Arcángel: The Sworn Festivities of San Miguel in Tuineje belong to the group that it catalogs as Historical Festivities “whose origin and current celebration make direct reference to an important event of the island’s past.
They are celebrated every October 13, being one of the busiest on the island.
Its solemnity has been increasing in recent years and evokes a historical event which is omnipresent throughout the celebration: the invasion of some English pirates in 1740 and their expulsion by the Majoreros.

Another wide-ranging representation, incorporated in the last twenty years, is that of the British landing on the beach of Gran Tarajal and their meeting with the neighbors, who transform the city of Tuineje and the Llano Florido into the theater of battle.

The Fiestas Juradas de San Miguel Arcangel have been declared Assets of Cultural Interest with a category of local or insular scope by a Decree of May 15, 2007

32. Romería de la Virgen de La Peña, en la isla de Fuerteventura: The Romeria of the Virgen de La Peña is one of the most important religious-festivities on the island, where popular devotion and cultural traditions are revealed.
The exact year in which it began is not known, although a 19th-century manuscript records the celebration of a pilgrimage to the Vega de Río Palmas in 1881, a date that could correspond to the historical moment in which this September festival begins.
Pilgrimages arrive from all corners of Fuerteventura and until relatively recently also from Lanzarote, moved by devotion, to make promises, to ask thanks to the Patron Saint and to participate in the religious and recreational-festive acts that are organized during the feast days.

Churches ( part of cultural heritage) of Fuerteventura

33. Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Antigua: The church was built between the 16th and 19th centuries and inside you can find paintings and characteristic structures of the time.
Its external structure is typically Canarian, white in color with a bell tower to highlight its presence.

34. Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria: Religious property located in the Tindaya estate, municipality of La Oliva.
All of the exterior is whitewashed, with the exception of the hole belfry which rises on the left side of the facade and is made with the so-called “Piedra molinera”.
By a decree of March 2003, the group of chattels belonging to this church is declared as a category of associated chattels.

Pajara

35. Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Regla: The church of the Municipality of Pajara was declared an asset of historical-artistic interest with a Decree of 7 February 1986.

Tuineje

36. Iglesia de San Miguel Arcángel: Even the church of Tuineje is the result of changes that have taken place over time.
It all started with a small hermitage back in September 1695 which was followed by several extensions.
Then, in 1764, the parishioners decided to build a chapel and, since then, the extensions and decorations continued up to what is now the current church.

Puerto del Rosario ( cultural heritage)

37. Iglesia de Santa Ana. Casillas del Ángel: The Church of Santa Ana is located in the port of Casillas del Ángel, in the municipality of Puerto del Rosario. It was built around the first half of the 18th century.
Inside there are numerous paintings and sculptures.

38. Iglesia Parroquial de Puerto del Rosario: The works began in 1924 in the main square of the town. The first temple undergoes many repairs and expansions.
With an ordinance of July 1993, the Parish Church of Puerto del Rosario was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest, as a monument category.

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The windmills ( part of the cultural heritage) of Fuerteventura

The windmills have become part of the island landscape, becoming silent witnesses of the past, in which they played an important role in the economy of the islands. In the case of Fuerteventura they existed in abundance because this typology develops mainly in arid or desert regions, taking the wind as a source of energy, to make up for the lack of water currents. The almost permanent presence of air currents on the islands and the orography of the island contributed to this, characterized by extensive plains interrupted only by these peculiar constructions.

List of mills in Fuerteventura declared Assets of Cultural Interest by Decree 162 of 29 June 1994:

• Molino de Corralejo in La Oliva.
• Molino de Villaverde (Montaña del Molino), in La Oliva.
• Molino de Tefia, in Puerto del Rosario.
• Molino en Llanos de la Concepción in Puerto del Rosario.

Antigua

• Molino de Antigua (en el pk de Ampuyenta), in Antigua.
• Molino de Valles de Ortega, in Antigua
• Molino de Valles De Ortega (Nucleo). in Antigua.
• Molino de Valles De Ortega (Nucleo). in Antigua.
• Molino de la Angua-Durazno, in Antigua.
• Molino de la Corte, in Antigua.

La Oliva

• Molino de Corralejo in La Oliva.
• Molino de el Roque, in La Oliva.
• Molino de Lajares, in La Oliva.
• Molino de Lajares, in La Oliva.
• Molino de Villaverde, in La Oliva
• Molino de Tindaya-Tebeto, in La Oliva.

Puerto del Rosario

• Molino de la Asomada, in Puerto del Rosario.
• Molino de Puerto Lajas, in Puerto del Rosario.
• Molino de Almacigo, in Puerto del Rosario.
• Molino de Almacigo, in Puerto del Rosario.
• Molino de Los Llianos de la Conception, in Puerto del Rosario.

Tuineje

• Molino de Tascamanita in Tascamanita (Tuineje).
• Molino de Tascamanita in Tascamanita (Tuineje).

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39. La Casa de Fray Andresito: This historical site deserves an article of its own, given its long past.
We can only say that it is located in Ampuyenta, on the road to La Oliva and is the house where Andrés García Acosta was born and lived.

40. La Casa del Inglés: La Casa del Inglés is an 18th century house, located in the place called “Sitio de Don David”, in the municipality of La Oliva, located on the left side of the road that goes from La Oliva to Villaverde. This house is an outstanding example of the architecture developed by the rural bourgeoisie.

41. La Pared de Jandía: it is part of the archaeological zone thanks to a Decree dated May 2014.

42. Poblado de La Atalayita. Valle de Pozo Negro: The archaeological zone belongs to the Municipality of Antigua and La Antalayta is located in an area once dedicated to pastures and crops.
It seems there was also a small spring in the area.

You can find other complete and detailed information on the Fuerteventura Cabildo website on this page