Santa Cruz de La Palma will host the seminar “The City and the Sea: Reflections and Proposals for Santa Cruz de La Palma” on Friday 23 and Saturday 24. Organised by the General Directorate for Coasts and Maritime Space Management of the Canary Islands government and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Miguel Arcángel, with support from the Cabildo of La Palma, the seminar aims to explore the city’s historical relationship with the sea and its impact on local development, including heritage, social, and economic aspects.
Antonio Acosta, the General Director of Coasts and Maritime Space Management, emphasised the seminar’s significance in analysing Santa Cruz de La Palma’s maritime history and its influence on the city. He stated, “This is an opportunity to better understand the history of Santa Cruz de La Palma, deepen our connection with the sea, and consider its role in the city’s development.”
Miriam Perestelo, the Cabildo’s Culture and Historical Heritage Councillor, highlighted the importance of Santa Cruz’s port in shaping the city’s social and economic landscape. She described the sea as not only a natural resource but also “an opportunity” for further growth and new initiatives throughout Santa Cruz and the island.
Manuel Poggio, the official chronicler of Santa Cruz de La Palma and the event’s organiser, outlined the seminar’s structure. It will consist of three sessions focused on different maritime themes related to the city’s history and evolution.
The seminar will open with a speech by Acosta, and will feature presentations from Alexis Martín Hernández of the Palma Architects’ Association, Alexis González Rodríguez, President of the official architects’ technical college in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and Poggio.
The first conference, titled “Ideas on Interventions in Architectural and Urban Heritage,” will be given by retired professor Manuel J. Martín Hernández, a former director of the Technical Higher School of Architecture at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. He has worked on projects in Europe and America, including the Master Plan for the historic area of Antigua, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Architects Enrique Nuere Matauco and Javier de Mingo García will also present. Nuere Matauco is renowned globally for his expertise in wooden frame constructions and has received multiple awards for his contributions to architecture. De Mingo García will discuss his project for San Fernando Square and the castle area in the Cabo district, which won an Honourable Mention in the Richard H. Driehaus International Architecture Competition, with Santa Cruz selected in 2019.
The seminar’s third session will be led by architect Rafael Daranas Hernández, who will discuss the vision of Santa Cruz de La Palma as a maritime city. He has previously served as the deputy chairman of the Cabildo Insular de La Palma and is involved in creating the current urban planning for the city.
Historian Jesús Pérez Morera will close the program with a guided tour of the Convent of Santo Domingo, an important example of 16th to 18th-century art in the Canary Islands.
This inaugural edition of “The City and the Sea” is supported by the Santa Cruz de La Palma City Council, the Cabildo Insular de La Palma, the Palma Architects’ Association, the Santa Cruz de Tenerife official architects’ technical college, the Museums of La Palma, and the Civic Forum of Santa Cruz de La Palma.
