Museo Castillo de la Forteleza El hao

The Castle Museum of La Fortaleza is of high historical and cultural interest, and is currently one of the recommended places to visit in the municipality of Santa Lucía de Tirajana.

This museum is mainly archaeological, it exhibits a large number of remains found in the area's sites, but we can also see in it ethnographic, botanical and zoological elements. In the vicinity of this interesting museum we will find a beautiful garden where we can appreciate the existence of native flora and fruit trees typical of different latitudes.

The historic areas of Santa Lucía are well worth a visit. Highlights include a walk to the famous fortress of Fortaleza de Ansite, a volcanic building where there are many caves which were used for dwellings and burials by the native inhabitants and where a large number of archaeological items have been found. It is also possible to see burial sites in natural caves in the fortress, normally associated with inhabited areas.

Burial mounds are found less frequently in this municipality and have only been recorded in the area of Pozo Izquierdo, at the beach of the same name.
The first chapel in Santa Lucía was built in honour of Santa Lucía in the second half of the sixteenth century. In 1761, as the chapel was not well preserved, the inhabitants decided to knock it down and build another one in the same place but on a different plot of land. The second chapel was blessed in 1761, although it did not survive long due to its poor state of preservation. It was finally demolished and in 1788 the image of Santa Lucía was transferred to the chancel of a new chapel, although this third chapel suffered the same fate as the two previous ones. Then in 1905, the church Iglesia de Santa Lucía was built right in the town square, on a rise, replacing the third chapel. These days it is one of the main places to visit in the municipality.

Willem Vandenameele