CHURCH SAN FRANCISCO DE ASÍS
 

Between 1599 and 1608, a hermitage was built in Puerto de la Cruz at the expense of the Almojarife of Puerto de la Cruz, Don Juan de Texera, who was the owner of the religious enclosure dedicated to Saint Hohn the Baptist.

On 23rd September 1608, Don Juan de Texera ceded the hermitage to the Franciscan Order and in 1609 it was finally added to the convent church.

In 1967 the convent of San Francisco was the victim of a voracious fire from which only the hermitage and the church were saved. 

Nowadays, the temple has been restored and was declared a historic-artistic monument of interest for the Government of the Canary Islands in 1986.

The layout of the chapel and church is quite original. It does not have two rectangular naves but one and a half; the half nave is the old hermitage of San Juan Bautista, which is therefore the oldest of the convent and the one from which the visit will begin.

Inside, the chapel is divided into four smaller chapels separated by Tuscan-Roman style columns and semicircular arches. All of them are independent and have their own altar, altarpiece and roof made of precious and varied wooden coffered ceilings, almost always octagonal (eight-sided).

The two naves are connected by four semicircular arches.

There are eight altarpieces in the church (four in the smaller nave and another four in the larger one), with some sculptures of interest.