Casa Salazar: A Baroque Episcopal Palace in Tenerife
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.3
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Spain
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Early Modern, Modern
- Civilizations
- Crown of Castile, Spanish
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Palace
On this page8 sections
History
Casa Salazar is a Baroque palace in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain, begun around 1629 and now serving as the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Tenerife, a Roman Catholic jurisdiction governed by a bishop. Its construction and later history are closely connected with the Salazar family and with the religious administration of Tenerife.
Construction and the Salazar family
Work began under Cristóbal Salazar de Frías, who had arrived in Tenerife in the late sixteenth century. His son, Cristóbal Salazar de Frías y Ríos, continued the project, and his grandson, Cristóbal Lázaro Salazar de Frías y Espinosa, completed it around 1687. The grandson held the hereditary titles of first Count of the Valley of Salazar and Marquis of Estremiana, both Spanish noble titles associated with the Salazar family.
Episcopal use and heritage status
In 1891, Bishop Ramón Torrijos y Gómez bought the palace from Esteban Salazar de Frías y Ponte, the eighth Count of the Valley of Salazar. He converted it into the seat of the diocese, which has owned and used the building as an episcopal palace since that time.
A process to designate Casa Salazar as a Property of Cultural Interest, classified as a monument, began in 1982. The palace also forms part of the historic ensemble of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999.
Fire and reconstruction
On 23 January 2006, a fire destroyed almost the entire building and left practically only the stone facade. Several years of restoration and reconstruction followed, supported by public institutions, the Church, businesses, and private individuals. The palace reopened on 19 June 2009, and its episcopal chapel was inaugurated in May 2010.
Remains
Palace and facade
Casa Salazar has two floors and covers approximately 2,883 square metres. Its architectural character is Baroque, combined with elements described as eclectic, Mannerist, and Neoclassical. Mannerism was a late Renaissance style associated with elongated forms and sophisticated compositions, while Neoclassicism drew inspiration from ancient Greek and Roman art and architecture. This combination forms part of the architectural character associated with the Canary Islands.
The principal facade is organized around a central crowning element and a central parapet carrying the Salazar family’s marble coat of arms. A stone entrance portico marks the principal access. Striking zoomorphic gargoyles project from the facade, their animal-like forms described as recalling pre-Hispanic American imagery. Gargoyles are projecting architectural elements traditionally used to discharge rainwater, often carved as animals or fantastic creatures.
Courtyard and interior garden
The palace includes an interior courtyard and an interior garden. The courtyard was already present before the fire of 2006 and forms part of the building’s surviving internal arrangement, alongside the reconstructed palace spaces.
Episcopal chapel
The episcopal chapel contains a central Byzantine or Orthodox-style mosaic depicting Pentecost, the Christian feast commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles. This type of mosaic uses formal religious imagery, symbolic composition, and richly colored individual pieces known as tesserae. The chapel was designed and built in Rome, then transported to Tenerife in thousands of separate mosaic pieces for assembly.
The chapel also bears the names of Catholic religious figures associated with the Diocese of Tenerife, including Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur, José de Anchieta, the Martyrs of Tazacorte, and María de Jesús de León y Delgado. Its creation was directed by Marko Ivan Rupnik, a Slovenian Jesuit priest and religious artist, with an international and ecumenical group. The chapel is regarded as one of the diocese’s most important works of art and as a major example of modern religious art in the Canary Islands.
