Betancuria

Introducing Betancuria

Wonderfully lush, this pretty hamlet is tucked into the protective folds of the basalt hills and is a patchwork of dry-stone walls, palm trees and simple whitewashed cottages. Lording over it all is a magnificent 17th-century church and courtyard

Jean de Béthencourt thought this the ideal spot to set up house in 1405, so he had living quarters and a chapel built. To this modest settlement he gave his own name, which, with time, was corrupted to Betancuria (or the Villa de Santa María de Betancuria, in the unexpurgated version). During the course of the 15th century, Franciscan friars moved in and expanded the town, which amazingly (given its size) remained the island’s capital until 1834. The island’s proximity to the North African coast made it easy prey for Moroccan and European pirates who, on numerous occasions, managed to defy Betancuria’s natural mountain defences and sack it.

Last updated: Sep 23, 2008