Santa Cruz de la Palma (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

for ''Holy Cross of La Palma'') is a city and a municipality on the east coast of the island of

La Palma La Palma (, ), also known as ''La isla bonita'' () and officially San Miguel de La Palma, is the most north-westerly island of the Canary Islands, Spain. La Palma has an area of making it the fifth largest of the eight main Canary Islands. The ...

in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz de la Palma is the second-largest city (after Los Llanos de Aridane) and is the capital of the island. It is along an old lava flow coming from the Caldereta (small

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

), a volcano just south of the city. The population of the municipality is 16,330 (2013),Instituto Canario de Estadística
, population its area is 43.38 km². Around 13,000 people live within the city limits, with the remaining population residing in other settlements. Santa Cruz beach

History

The city was founded by

Alonso Fernández de Lugo Alonso Fernández de Lugo (; died 1525) was a Spanish military man, conquistador, city founder, and administrator. He conquered the islands of La Palma (1492–1493) and Tenerife (1494–1496) for the Castilian Crown; they were the last of the C ...

on May 3, 1493. It was located between a river which is situated by a cave named ''Tedote'' (now ''Cueva de Carías'', located north of the city). The city, originally called ''Villa del Apurón'', served as a port that connected routes to the Americas, exporting goods from the island such as sugarcane. The city was sacked by pirates and was later reconstructed and fortified against future pirate attacks. Famous fortifications include the '' Castillo de Santa Catalina'' and ''Castillo de la Virgen''. The economic crisis that affected the agriculture sector brought the greatest loss of population in the city's history, which limited its expansion and caused the population to stabilize and drop to 11,000. The population did not approach its original 18,000 again for the next hundred years.

Climate

Santa Cruz de la Palma has a hot

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''BSh'') featuring very warm, almost rainless summers from April to September, and warm, rainier winters from October to March.

Tourism

Santa Cruz de la Palma has the only major port in the island, serving ferry routes to

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

in Spain, as well as to

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that ...

and Lanzarote. The main ferry operators in the port are Naviera Armas, Fred. Olsen Express, and Trasmediterránea. Many cruise line firms visit the port. In Las Nieves is the ''Real Santuario Insular de las Virgen de las Nieves'', the patron saint of the island of La Palma.

Media

* ''El Apurón'' : elapuron.com

Sport

The football

SD Tenisca Sociedad Deportiva Tenisca is a Spanish football team club from the city of Santa Cruz de La Palma, on the island of La Palma (Canary Islands). It was founded in 1922 and currently plays in '' Tercera División RFEF – Group 12'', holding home g ...

rivalry with

CD Mensajero Club Deportivo Mensajero is a Spanish football team based in Santa Cruz de la Palma, in the autonomous community of Canary Islands. Founded on 6 January 1922, it plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 4, holding home games at ''Nuevo Estadio ...

is the most important derby of the island of

. One of these games, played in 1983, was considered one of the most violents in the history of Spanish football.

Historical population

People

Manolo Blahnik Manuel "Manolo" Blahnik Rodríguez (; born 27 November 1942) is a Spanish fashion designer and founder of the eponymous high-end shoe brand. Biography Blahnik was born in Santa Cruz de la Palma, in the Canary Islands (Spain), to a Czech father ...

, shoemaker

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Cruz De La Palma 1493 establishments in Spain Populated places established in the 1490s Municipalities in La Palma