Church of Santo Domingo

On one side, you’ve got the beautiful house known as Torre Hermosa, and on the other, the Church of Santo Domingo. Back in the 16th century, Torre Hermosa was home to conquistador Diego de Mesa, a key figure in charge of redistributing land after the conquest — so it’s no surprise he ended up with such a grand residence. Across from it, the Church of Santo Domingo dates from the 17th century and once belonged to the Dominican friars, an influential religious order in Spain known for embracing poverty as a path to spiritual purity. If you take a close look at the façade, you’ll spot the Dominican coat of arms: a dog carrying a torch, symbolising faith shining light on the world. Inside, the church holds real treasures of Canarian heritage, including paintings of Saint Dominic’s burial and the Virgin of Candelaria, as well as stunning Mudéjar-style wooden ceilings. Each chapel has a different design because they were originally built by separate families before being joined together. When the church was restored in the 1980s, workers uncovered tunnels, crypts, and human remains, sparking legends about secret underground passages connecting all five convents that once stood in La Orotava — a hidden world the public never knew existed. Today, the bell tower of Santo Domingo, alongside that of the Church of the Conception, forms the signature skyline of La Orotava against the deep blue sky. Right next to the church, in what used to be the Dominican convent, you’ll find the entrance to the Museum of Latin American Crafts. Back in the day, the convent was a respected centre of higher learning, and one of its most famous students was Agustín de Betancourt, the first person to fly a hot air balloon in Spain. This brilliant inventor became a close friend of Tsar Alexander I and played a major role in modernising Russia, where he is still honoured today. After the Spanish confiscation in 1836, the convent became state property and was used as a school, a prison, and later as what was locally known as a “citadel” (ciudadela), a large building where small, low-income communities lived. By the late 20th century, it had fallen into disrepair and was declared unsafe, but it was eventually restored and now serves as the home of the museum. It’s definitely worth a visit!