On the footsteps of César Manrique: Discover 4 Art Centres

General information

Destination
Lanzarote, Spain

Program details

When, in the late 1960s, and early 1970s, César Manrique returned to Lanzarote and, together with Jesús Soto, commenced the construction and start-up of the Art and Tourism Center of Lanzarote, they were perhaps not aware of the international and artistic trend that they were going to generate.



César, a multidisciplinary artist, painter, sculptor, conservator of monuments and tourist resorts, designer of landscapes and gardens, and recognized ecologist, created from natural volcanic accidents a tendency that impacted the world. He managed to unite Art, Urbanism, and Tourism in a single concept, under a philosophy and model of urban intervention based on sustainability and respect for the natural values of the territory, into what is now a world reference.



Our Island would be different without the Monument to the Peasant, Los Jameos del Agua, Mirador del Río, Cactus Garden, or the Cave of the Greens. It would certainly be less attractive and with much less personality. Not visiting these Centers and works of art, being able to interpret them, is like not even having traveled here. On this excursion, we are delighted to offer you this opportunity on a tour through the north of Lanzarote.



We begin at the Monument “Al Campesino”, in the middle of the island. Manrique designed it in honor of the farmer´s hard work today and in past centuries. Haria, in the north, is where Manrique spent the last years of his life.



After a stroll around Haria, we head north to the Mirador del Rio (480m). This spectacular viewpoint carved into the cliff edge and recreated by Manrique was once an old artillery post ‘Bateria del Rio’. From here, we look down onto the Chinijo Islands.



After lunch (not included), you have the choice to visit either the Green Caves or Los Jameos del Agua, both part of the 7 km lava tunnel of Monte Corona.



The Green Caves, (Las Cuevas de los Verdes), where people used to hide from pirates and slave hunters, have beautiful lighting designed by Jesus Soto, and of course, the great optical illusion.



The Jameos del Agua, home of the blind albino crab, has subterranean pathways, an auditorium, and La Casa de los Volcanes, a scientific center dedicated to volcanology studies.



The Cactus Garden, designed on the site of an old ‘rofero‘ has concentric terraces of cacti from Africa, America, and the Canary Islands. It has been the last of the cultural centers opened by Manrique (1990).



To round off the day we visit the Cesar Manrique Foundation where the artist created his living space, within five volcanic bubbles that originated with the 18th-century eruptions. On the foundation, there is a collection of Manrique paintings and architectural designs.