The Mayor of Santa Cruz, José Manuel Bermúdez, and the Vice President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Román Rodríguez, accompanied by the Councilor for Infrastructure and Works, Dámaso Arteaga, and the Councilor for the Centro-Ifara district, Guillermo Díaz Guerra, visited the Masonic Temple of Tenerife on the occasion of the beginning of the works that will allow its comprehensive rehabilitation, with an investment of three million euros from the Ministry of Finance, which at the time were transferred from the General Directorate of Fine Arts of the Ministry of Culture, after a meeting with the mayor in February of this year.
Bermúdez emphasized that “this presentation of the beginning of the works in the Masonic Temple of Santa Cruz is a moment of great relevance that gives continuity to the recovery program of the historical heritage of the city and a long-awaited action that has not been exempt of setbacks” and emphasized that “now, there is already an architecture team led by María Nieves Febles, there is already a contract under the supervision of Víctor Rodríguez, so the rehabilitation of this jewel of Masonic architecture, unique in Europe, begins from today”.
“In addition to the councilor involved in the works, Dámaso Arteaga -specified the first mayor-, I have also personally asked the Vice President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Román Rodríguez, to be here today because his contribution has been important to obtain financing from the Government of Spain for the rehabilitation of the Temple” and recalled that “precisely next year will be the 100th anniversary of the completion of the façade of this architectural work, so this action comes at a significantly important moment, both for the building and for the heritage history of the city.
For his part, Arteaga specified that “the technical team of this rehabilitation knows that it is a work that must be carried out slowly, but with diligence, so here we are not going to see machines from tomorrow, but rather we have to go progressively and You will see how, with care, all the elements are being restored” and stressed that “precisely those that are part of the very special symbology of this building” and concluded by stating that “in this way, an important historical debt owed to Santa Cruz de Tenerife, one more piece in the determined will of this government team to recover the heritage”.
A benchmark for tourism and culture
“The building will become a benchmark in terms of tourism, culture – advanced the Councilor for Infrastructure -, heritage of the city without a doubt and will be one of the enclaves of Santa Cruz that will be one of the most visited”, but warned that “that it will happen when it is restored, but we must know that from here to there we still have important work to do, so it only remains for me to thank all those people who have participated so far and we hope that we do not have too many difficulties and, in any case, , that we are able to overcome all the ones we come across”.
Román Rodríguez stated that “when the mayor of Santa Cruz told me that this project was very advanced, we presented an amendment to the General State Budgets in order to provide financing for these works that begin today, a building closely linked to culture and the idiosyncrasy of the city” and added that “I am grateful for the mayor’s invitation, which also helps me to maintain that not only can we move forward with roads, housing, etc., but that we must also be aware that we must protect our heritage, and This is a good example”.
The architect in charge of this action, María Nieves Febles, wanted to emphasize that “it is very difficult to summarize in five minutes the intense work that has been carried out to design this rehabilitation, in addition to all the knowledge that we have had to acquire to first understand the building and its symbology and then be able to act on it” and added that “it has been essential to document ourselves in order to know the meaning of many parts and pieces, for which we have had to go to the studio and to the masons themselves to understand and respect, to the maximum, all the extraordinary symbology of this construction”.
On the other hand, it should be remembered that on his trip to Madrid last February, the mayor took the opportunity to meet with Jesús Soriano Carrillo, 33rd Sovereign Commander of the Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree and last of the ancient Scottish rite, with whom he discussed different aspects of the lodge in the capital of Tenerife and “the positive consequences that the rehabilitation of this jewel of the heritage of Santa Cruz will have, both for the Freemasonry of this city and for the members of all of Europe and the world, precisely because of the uniqueness of this construction”, said Bermúdez.
Thus, the works projected by the architect María Nieves Febles in the Masonic Temple of Tenerife will focus on the symbolic and material recovery of the Masonic lodge, taking into account its category of BIC, in addition to adapting and making the new uses compatible, with the patrimonial character of the building, contemplating, in addition, the recovery of the spatial and iconographic configuration of the spaces of greatest symbolism, such as the Meeting Room and the Agape Room.
To conclude, the important investment that this City Council dedicates to the recovery and rehabilitation of its Historical Heritageestimated at just over 30 million euros, which includes the aforementioned temple, in addition to the Palacio de Carta, the Villasegura building, the castle of San Andrés, the building of the old school of Arts and Crafts in Ireneo González square and another long etcetera of buildings that are intended to be recovered as part of the cultural and architectural identity of Santa Cruz.
Rehabilitation work begins on the Masonic Temple of Tenerife
Rehabilitation work begins on the Masonic Temple of Tenerife
