The old town of Icod de los Vinos

Municipality: Icod de los Vinos 

History

In the epoch of the Guanches, the municipality was integrated under the Menceyato de Icode. It was formed as a part  of the control of war, for what the population suffered the consequences with the slavery on having finished the conquest.

The distribution of lands of this zone was equitable, however  Fernandez de Lugo saved for himself a portion of it. The Portuguese were the major percentage of the population (80 %) of the zone. There also lived  grancanarios  and very few of the Castilians.

This first population begins to settle in the current population nucleus of Las Angustias, close to the ravine from which a natural source of water was coming.

The primitive church of San Marcos was begun to construct in 1501. The saint is a Flemish sculpture, which according to the legend, it was  found on a cave of the beach of the same name.

House

The first culture was that of the sugar cane, saving Hernadez de Lugo one of a few lands of himself. Nevertheless the crises forced to the lease these lands, and a new culture was born: the grapevine. With this culture come an economic growth, as a consequence a new social elite was formed and they managed to found convents in the zone. It was in this epoch when the zone begins to be known as Icod de los Vinos. In this century more acquaintances were started building too. 

In the 17th century, it was the fourth municipality for number of inhabitants, preceded by La Laguna, La Orotava and Garachico. There was consolidated a pertaining to nobility insular elite, creating primogenitures in the zone and constructing in the household tasks hermitages to highlight the piety and the greatness of their soul.

House

After the wine crisis (the malvasía disappears in 1730), the only exit is the plantation of vidueños  (a variety of wine) which will be commercialized together with the sedates of the zone, towards North America and the Spanish Indies. After this crisis the population started to emigrate, but many people were coming back on having had sufficient economy, or were ordering money, for what this emigration did not do that the population was descending in an alarming way.

Nevertheless, this crisis stopped during a short period of time, due to the wine exports and the blockade of Great Britain; doing that the exports of the islands were increasing. A change that did not last very much, meeting aggravated to signing the peace. It is the year 1814 the last stage of export of the wine (since it was seen in the last centuries).

House

Among the problems which the population faced during these centuries, we can mention the crises in the exports, not being able to compete with others bought and seeing the need to emigrate; sanitary problems and epidemic derivatives of the lateness of constructing the cemetery; the burning flame in 1798, in that approximately 20 houses remained satiny.

In the 19th century, it was possible to find in the area public and private colleges. In May, 1888 it was finished the road that was joining them with La Orotava. In 1887 relied on the first hotel, Hotel English (same lessees that the Hotel Marqueza in Puerto de la Cruz), that it was opening the zone for foreign tourists not only for trippers of step.

Street

From the first moment the municipality had a mayor dependent on La Laguna. From the agricultural point of view, it was joined to Daute's region, of which Icod was separated in 1687, after several lawsuits by Garachico to show the hegemony of the Region. In 1812, after several requests and with the arrival of the liberal regime, Icod acquires independent town hall. Finally, it is in 1833 when the city is proclaimed  as the capital of the region.

Nowadays Icod de los Vinos possesses one of the most important old towns, due to the conservation of the same one. The population coexists between the services sector and the primary sector ,since it still possesses an important wine production, as well as production of a banana plantation.

Balcony

Representative Buildings

The old town of Icod: Declared BIC  in 2002. The Historical town includes  the real estate that line up along the principal urban routes, religious real estate too.

In general, a good part of the real estate are from the 18th century, and are fitted in the baroque stage. But this concept has to be understood more as a chronological frame of reference (not as the development of a skill). The buildings will be supported by  walls of masonry, using irregular stones taking the mud as an element of subjection.

The vano (opening in a compact surface ones) in the fronts are not very numerous and in them it predominates over the use of the wood, on having treated itself about an abundant and relatively cheap material on the islands.

In the windows it alternates the type of cushions - massive and with habitually geometric decoration and those of the guillotine, in which it predominates over the crystal. Also, there are frequent the windows that combine glazed parts and massive and, others even, windows of lattices and of the sliding panel

When many of the inhabitants were returning with more economic power of Cuba and Venezuela (or for the sending of relatives' money), this old town was modified by houses of brick and cement.

Houses and Street

Plaza la Pila (square): BIC. In the beginnings it was a small place. There was carried out a reform to enlarge them, falling down some houses. In 1976 it was put on a fountain to supply the population. In the nearest  we can find casonas (big houses) of the centuries XVII-XIX.

Square

Hospital Nuestra Señora de los Dolores : Icod de los Vinos  was a village as big as that of La Laguna, but nevertheless it was  possessing either the cavalry of the  second one nor better ways, being these narrow. In 1697 Francisco Leonardo runs with the expenses and finishes the construction of the hospital putting also a college of Jesus' Company in the same one.

Hospital

Ex-convent San Francisco: BIC in 2002. Declared Monument in 1986, being the second convent in Icod. The front of the convent is rectangular, with a series of high windows of round arch. The court of the convent dates back of the middle of the 17th century and is of plant squared with cloister of 20 columns of torch on hewn stone.  Nowadays, in one finds the Library.

Ex-convent

Church of San Agustín: BIC. Attached building to the current town hall. Building of 1585, it concerned to the first convent that it was constructed in the municipality. And Ex-convent Angustino: Current Town Hall. It was the First convent of the zone. The front is of style neocanario.

Ex-convent and church

House of the Cáceres: BIC. Casona that dates back to the 19th century, nowadays is a place used for different events.

Caceres´s House

The Church  of San Marcos: BIC. It was first a small hermitage that about 1500 got up in the same place, as a consequence of the appearance of the image of San Marcos.

It presents a rectangular plant articulated in three ships and a total of eight chapels; three in each of wings and two more to the feet of the temple. The ships are separated by arches of half a point that come out into columns of smooth shaft and simple capital, raised on plinth and base.

In the interior it is possible to see the artesonados, emphasizing that of the central ship. On the exterior, the principal front places in the south side of the church, constituting one of the best examples of the manierismo (tipe of artistic stile) in the Canaries. The simplicity of the rest of the exterior fronts is completed by the tower integrated by four superposed bodies. 

The personal property of the Church is completed by other altarpieces and images, as well as diverse pictures of certain interest.

Church

Plaza Lorenzo Cáceres (square): BIC. Construction that gets up on the former convent of the nuns Bernardas. It dates back to the 16th century and one finds about the Church San Marcos.

Square

El Drago:  in 1917 and 1927 it was named to El Drago as a national site. This one received the importance when in 1867 the temporary one ended up by falling down to the dredge of  La Orotava, which up to the date date was the biggest and ancient of the island.

Drago

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In the different populations (Buen Paso, El Amparo, La Florida, Fuente la Vega, La Vega. La Mancha, Santa Bárbara, Las Cañas, San Felipe, San Marcos) we find real estate worth being visited. Between them it been can mentioned:

House Campino: It is located in San Antonio, in the high part of Icod, closely together of the hermitage of the same name and close to the former way of El Amparo. The building of the 18th century preserves important patrimonial values. The construction was adapted to the marked slope of the area.

Campino´s House

Ermita Nuestra Señora del Buen Paso (hermitage):  BIC: it consists of two fundamental elements: the Hermitage and the pine. It is a question of one of the most ancient constructions of Tenerife and at the same time of the simplest. It possesses the typical rectangular floor. It has suffered several modifications, for what they can appreciate modern enough elements.

Tiled

Iglesia del Amparo: It is a BIC. Construction of 1587, it constitutes an architectural set of great relevancy, so much for the traditional typology of the proper temple, since  for the constructive features of called "house of the hermit " (housing that the founder of the hermitage occupied) and of the portico (or orange average). 

The church consists of a ship of rectangular floor, with artesonado.

Church