The friars fled from the fire as best they could, jumping from the windows of a building that was three stories high or lowering themselves with the help of ropes. In just 8 hours, “it burned as if it were full of gunpowder”, recall testimonies from the beginning of the 19th century. During the night of April 19 to 20, 1801, in La Orotava, the flames ended almost three centuries of history. That night 221 years ago, the Franciscan convent of San Lorenzo was lost, described by the realejero priest and historian Jose de Viera y Clavijo What «El Escorial de Canarias». Now the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage of the regional government, In collaboration with the Department of Cultural Heritage of the City Council of La Orotava, finances and carries out archaeological surveys in a courtyard next to the Church of San Francisco to try to find new traces of a religious center, founded in 1519, which marked the history of the Villa.
This former Franciscan convent it was inhabited by up to 60 friars and was the seat of all the provincial chapters of its time, in addition to being a leading school of philosophy and theology. After the fire, only pieces of what was once were saved: some walls, the stonework doorway of the church and various carvings of great value, such as his original Saint Lawrence, from the 16th century, one of the oldest preserved in the Canary Islands. In his hands he carries a palm leaf, which commemorates his martyrdom, and a grill, which evokes his death roasted alive. can still be seen in the Church of San Juan.
At[person]’s house Eugene Amador, on the same San Francisco street, every August 10, if the pandemic allows it, you can visit a stone San Lorenzo, escorted by the stone portraits of Bartolome Benitez de Lugo, nephew of the advance Alonso Fernandez de Lugo, and his wife Mencía, founders of the convent in 1519. The old hospital of the Santísima Trinidad, now converted into the municipal wake, was built on the so-called Escorial de Canarias and still preserves part of its walls and entrances, as well as a portion of what was his great church. What remains as a temple is believed to be only a fifth of the original. There you can see various images that the monks saved from the fire: a Christ from the garden from the 17th century; the Virgen de la Soledad, from the 17th century, and the most important, the Virgin of Charity that presided over the main altar and that, according to Viera y Clavijo, attracted local devotion. The San Francisco original of the main altarpiece and his deceased Virgin of the convent are also protected in The Museum of Sacred Art The Treasure of La Concepción.
Under the current wake building, or in its surroundings, it is believed that the crypt of Bartolomé Benítez de Lugo could still be found. The surveys carried out in an area annexed to the church of San Francisco try to corroborate its archaeological potential. This research, led by the pronet team, intends to “archeologically show whether the old monastery continued its orientation towards the South and identify what could have been the original floor of the disappeared building”, he explains. Hacomar Ruiz, co-director of the project.
The General Director of Cultural Heritage, Nona Perera, adds that “the establishment of temples and religious orders supported a model of conquest that we need to know so that the past of the Canary Islands has fewer shadows and for this it is essential to study these enclaves.” The mayor of Cultural Heritage of La Orotava, Delia Escobar, understands that “with this first phase, historical justice is done in an enclave that was fundamental for the development of the municipality. It was great news for us the General Directorate of Heritage supported and endorsed the proposal presented and we are also glad to know that the intention is to continue working with a second phase that could be developed throughout 2022».
The main hypothesis with which this team of researchers works is that the convent of San Lorenzo was located in the space it occupies today the old Hospital of the Holy Trinity and the Church of San Francisco, “but its extension would be much greater, since it occupied approximately 2600 square meters”. As it is such a large area, four surveys were carried out in an unbuilt space attached to the church, where vestiges that could be part of the original construction were found.
«The documentation tells us that the old convent was in this area and with the archaeological intervention, the trail of construction elements that already indicate the architectural importance of this space, such as a Corinthian column or a stone arch, is being followed» , reports Ruiz, who adds that “through the archeology of architecture and the photogrammetric record, it is possible to recognize walls and construction elements that explain to us what was the evolution architecture of this space, as well as landslides, remodeling, subsequent construction, reoccupation or traces of combustion, among others.
The Villero City Council hopes to achieve regional support to continue this year with a second phase of the study
The study of sediments it also contributes to deciphering human behavior in relation to that place, since each archaeological stratum preserves different historical events superimposed on each other. Each one houses varied information about the functionality of the convent. All the recovered sediment has been sifted to ensure the maximum recovery of the archaeological material: fragments of vessels, glass and metal elements, various fragments of fauna, but also debris from the time when the hospital worked.
After this first phase of research, a possible second archaeological intervention has been proposed, supported by the Villero City Council, “already in extension, to be able to relate the different stratigraphic units located and the registered construction elements.” In addition, the work team proposes the possibility of developing outreach activities, which include this space within the rich cultural and artistic heritage that it already treasures. the town of La Orotava.
Jose de Viera y Clavijo described in chapter X of book XVIII of his Historia de Canarias this villero convent, which a team of archaeologists, the Government of the Canary Islands Y Orotavense City Hall they try to rescue for the present: «The amenity of the site, the orchards, waters and extension of the house; the income of almost 24,000 reais from chaplaincies and perpetual memories; the large community of more than 60 religious; the serious school of philosophy and theology with many chairs; the quality of a capitular convent where elections are ordinarily held with great competition and splendor; the residence that the most decorated fathers of the province usually do in it; the picture of Our Lady of Charity, which attracts the devotion of the neighborhoods, and finally, the novitiate, the name of its obvious children, the third order, the popular aura of the institute… everything contributes to making it the San Lorenzo of the convents of the Canary Islands and El Escorial of their most worthy parents.
Founded by a nephew of the advanced Alonso Fernández de Lugo
Founded in 1519 by the conquistador Bartolomé Benítez de Lugo, nephew of Alonso Fernández de Lugo, and later entrusted to the Franciscan order, this religious center in the village became the most important convent in the Archipelago: for almost three centuries it was home to up to 60 friars, served as the seat of the provincial chapters and was an outstanding school of philosophy and theology.
