Plaza Weyler

Plaza Weyler is the elegant forecourt of the Captaincy General of the Canary Islands - and one of the most beautiful spots in central Santa Cruz. The square owes its name to General Valeriano Weyler, Captain General of the Canaries, during whose tenure the Captaincy building was erected.

The site was previously a military training ground (Campo Militar) next to the San Miguel barracks. In 1778 a Military Hospital stood here. In 1879 General Weyler commissioned the new Captaincy General, and architect Manuel de Cámara designed the square as its ceremonial forecourt. The leveling works were carried out by migrants from Fuerteventura and Lanzarote fleeing droughts. The square was designed by architect Vicente Alonso de Armiño. Inauguration: May 6, 1883.

In 1883 a simple round basin with a fountain was placed in the center, but councilors Luis Candellot and Isidro Miranda proposed purchasing a grander marble fountain. The order went to Genoa, to the firm Francisco Franchini y Cía. Cost: 11,380 lire - an enormous sum for the city budget. The money was raised through residents' contributions, lotteries, balls, tombolas and bazaars. They even sold timber from barracks that had housed soldiers returning from Cuba. Harpist Esmeralda Cervantes gave a charity concert at the Teatro Guimerá.

The fountain, the work of sculptor Achille Canessa, arrived on June 10, 1899 aboard the ship Mateo Bruzzo with an Italian technician for assembly. It was inaugurated in 1900. The fountain: white Carrara marble, Neo-Renaissance style. Two main elements: a central pillar (5.8 m tall) and a basin. The pillar has three levels of decoration: (1) mascarons spouting water from their mouths, shells in the corners; (2) concave walls with pilgrim shells, cherubs seated on the corners holding dolphin-spouts; (3) two children at the top with a garland of flowers, between them a dolphin shooting two streams of water from its eyes. In 1958 four Carrara marble jarrones-fruteros were added around the fountain.

Restorations: 2009 - sandblasting (architect Alejandro Beautell), removal of rust, bacteria, fungi, algae and pollutants. 2023-2024 - major restoration costing 55,500 EUR, a project by the ULL Foundation: repair of cracks and fissures in the marble, new plumbing, electrics, LED lighting, waterproofing of the basin. The square: 3,600 m2, octagonal shape in the center, gardens with beautiful flowers and plants. Paths paved with artificial stone, chasnera tiles and beach pebbles. BIC - Bien de Interés Cultural (part of the Conjunto Histórico Barrio de Los Hoteles-Pino de Oro). Next to it: the Captaincy General building (neoclassical), the entrance to Calle del Castillo (the main shopping street).