Visiting Tenerife Museums

Tenerife’s museums give an interesting and enjoyable picture of the history, nature and culture of the island and of the world, spending just a few hours visiting some of them will be more than worthwhile. The majority are modern, informative museums aimed at the public in general. Families will especially enjoy the fun, interactive exhibits in the Museum of Science and Cosmos in La Laguna.

There are also some fascinating exhibits dedicated to the ancient inhabitants of the Canary Islands, the “guanches”, in the Museum of Nature and Mankind in Santa Cruz de Tenerife which will interest young and old alike. In general, most museums are closed on Mondays.

The Archaeological Museum of Puerto de la Cruz, in the tourist resort of Puerto de la Cruz, is also dedicated to the life and customs of the “guanches.” There is also a museum which focuses on the long and productive winemaking tradition of Tenerife or another on the exciting history of the island. The former is in the district of El Sauzal where it takes up a large part of the “Casa del Vino” (House of Wine). The other part is used for wine-tasting, sampling Canarian cuisine and a highly-recommended restaurant. The annex to the Visitors’ Centre, “Casa de la Miel” (House of Honey) gives information on the past and present tradition of beekeeping on the island. Then there is the very interesting Museum of the History of Tenerife, located in an old stately home in the historic centre of La Laguna, a city recently declared a World Heritage Site.

Crafts and local customs are the main attractions of various other museums in Tenerife, for example the Museum of Anthropology in Valle de Guerra, in the district of La Laguna or a collection of Latin American craftwork in La Orotava, with artefacts from South America and the Philippines. Art and Military History are other topics covered by Tenerife’s museums. The Arts will soon be greatly improved thanks to the forthcoming inauguration of the Oscar Dominguez Institute of Contemporary Art, located in a magnificent nine-storey building in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, designed by the architects Herzog and De Meuron.

More informations about your next holiday destination: www.la-victoria.eu

Guanche Art

Aboriginal art can be appreciated through the stone engravings and in the ceramic creations with geometrical designs, that were used as domestic utensils, as well as decorative objects. The most representative dish is known as a gánigo (a typical clay dish of Guanche craftsmanship that can be found in the Museum of Nature and Man and the Archaeological Museum , both in Tenerife), other less abundant ceramic forms are the plates, terracotta knives, tabonas (objects made with black stones in the shape of flagstones that were used to cut, lance and flay).

As to personal adornments, the most outstanding are the baked clay beads, in different tones and hues, beads made out of bone and shells, ceramic necklaces with shells, pieces of bones, wood or vertebrae. They manufactured materials out of jonquil, vegetable fibre or palms. They made figures representing their idols in baked clay, bone, or stone. From their rudimentary art there are thousands of engravings, known as panels, done with different techniques such as scoring and ‘piquetado’, among others directly carved into the rock.

More informations about your next holiday destination: www.la-victoria.eu