The Ladera de Martiánez is a space of great geological, botanical, historical and natural interest for Puerto de la Cruz. Was declared Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), with the category of archaeological zone in 2007, and at least since 1999 it has been waiting for an intervention that respects its values that will make it possible to put an end to more than two decades of abandonment and deterioration, and promote its recovery as an attraction for the tourist city .
The Sustainable City area, led by David Hernández (Portuense Citizen Assembly), has taken a new step to try to resume this pending issue and has officially addressed the Heritage area of the Cabildo de Tenerife, as the owner of part of this space, so that it intervenes in the area and begins by executing at least one cleaning of the place.
This demand is one of the conclusions of the conference of the School of Municipal Sustainability on the Ladera de Martiánez, which addressed “the need to condition this space, which currently has a high impact associated with various activities for public use that generate accumulated waste ». The Sustainable City area made a visit to the hillside, together with technical staff from the Cabildo, to assess its current state. On this tour “the need for conservation, maintenance and improvement of its heritage values became clear.” According to David Hernández, an initial request has been made “to clean and maintain a space of great patrimonial value and great potential for landscaping, which acts as an attraction area for residents and visitors, and which is not included in the area subject to action by the concessionaire companies in charge of cleaning and collecting waste ».
This first intervention will consist of removal of waste accumulated along the escarpment of the Martiánez hillside and cliff, in the space between the Camino de las Cabras and the curve of the eastern highway (TF-31), at the height of the sector 6 treatment plant. After the visit, the Cabildo has promised to «reactivate the irrigation system automatic installed in 2014 and stopped working in 2015 ».
In the BIC declaration of the Ladera de Martiánez it is highlighted that it is a space “of high botanical interest”, but whose most relevant feature is its archaeological interest. Despite the deterioration and looting for centuries, the existence of a set of channels and bowls, several habitation caves, some burial caves and abundant remains scattered throughout the cliff is valued. «In total, up to seven archaeological sites have been inventoried, in a preliminary way, combining evidence of different kinds. These initial results show that the hillside must have constituted a first-rate settlement area, caused by the abundance of resources, ”concludes the BIC statement.
In 1999, a workshop school started an ambitious and unfinished recovery project, that proposed the creation of several thematic routes and an interpretation center of the hillside.
