The street linking Plaza de San Cristóbal with Cruz de Piedra, once known as Tanque Abajo and popularly referred to as “The Gardens” due to its lush greenery featuring colourful rose bushes and various flowers, has been renamed after the esteemed military engineer Leonardo Torriani. Torriani, born in Crémona, Italy, was the mastermind behind the first urban layout of San Cristóbal de La Laguna in 1588, thus earning the honour of having this avenue dedicated to him.
In April 2015, the Presidency and Planning Commission of the Hon. City Council of San Cristóbal de La Laguna initiated the process to rename the former Calvo Sotelo avenue to Leonardo Torriani. This decision, in compliance with the Historical Memory Law, was approved by the municipal plenary session following a non-binding recommendation from the commission.
The Historic Stone Cross
Welcoming visitors on the right side, towards Santa Cruz, stands the historic Stone Cross monument, erected around a hundred meters from the San Cristóbal chapel. The presence of this monument is noted on a map dating back to 1795, during the time when La Laguna served as the capital of Tenerife under the administration of Colonel Amat de Tortosa.
Today, Leonardo Torriani Avenue boasts four lanes enriched with verdant grass patches, lined with trees, and adorned with palm trees on both sides. This avenue serves as a vital route facilitating the flow of traffic from the city centre towards TF-5 and Avenida de los Menceyes, the former highway connecting Santa Cruz and La Laguna.
Once the primary route to Santa Cruz, this now modern thoroughfare functions as the main gateway to La Laguna’s historic centre, connecting pedestrians to Barrio Nuevo and various surrounding key destinations.
Within one of the garden beds on the right side of the avenue, a bust honours the Lagunero journalist and writer, Don Leoncio Rodríguez (1881-1955), commemorating his literary contributions and achievements. Additionally, the avenue intersects María del Cristo de Ossuna street, near the former tobacco factory, known for serving as the headquarters of political parties like the Canary Socialist Party-PSOE and the General Union of Workers (UGT) during the 1970s.
Obispo Pérez Cáceres Street
Ascending the avenue, on the right, lies Obispo Pérez Cáceres Street, dedicated to Bishop Pérez Cáceres, a revered clergyman known as the “Bishop of the Poor”. Bishop Pérez Cáceres, born in Güímar in 1892, gained widespread recognition for his role in constructing the Basilica of Our Lady of Candelaria, the patron saint of the Canary Islands. Revered for his humility and kindness, he was posthumously granted the title of Adoptive Son in numerous municipalities of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Bishop Pérez Cáceres passed away in 1961, receiving a grand funeral procession and finding his final resting place in the Basilica of the Virgin of Candelaria.
Today, Leonardo Torriani Avenue is lined with modern buildings, interspersed with remnants of historic 18th and 19th-century single-storey homes.
The legacy of Leonardo Torriani
Leonardo Torriani, an Italian engineer and military cartographer born in Crémona in 1560, played a pivotal role in fortifying the Canary Islands under the reign of King Philip II. His notable contributions include drafting the 1588 urban plan of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, which remains largely unchanged to this day and earned the city UNESCO World Heritage status in 1999.
Despite several unrealised projects, Torriani’s detailed documentation on the Canary Islands’ history and geography continues to be studied, housed in the library of the University of Coimbra where he passed away in 1628, leaving behind a significant legacy.
