This is one of the town’s symbols, a gigantic volcanic rock, a product of the eruptions of 1430 and which owes its name to a friar who, in the early part of the XVIIIth Century, climbed up to pray in isolation. In 1813, the Genoese Luis Lavaggi, on a whim, decided to beautify the rock with a stone stairway, and a small flat area at the summit , adorned with an enormous green cross with bronze ornaments The shrine was built in 1855 and restored in 2003 with a new bronze dome. The crag witnessed executions and legend has it that in one of the cracks is hidden the treasure of Caraperro [Dogface] the pirate. In the XVIIth Century it was chosen by the penitent friar Juan de Jesús, after arriving from Icod de los Vinos, as his place of prayer for many years. Another legend recounts that one day the friar decided to set up a cross made of “verodes” [Senecio kleinia – a succulent ] , and the next morning the crag appeared to have bloomed and was covered with flowers.

The wharf at El Penitente was Puerto de la Cruz’ last chance to keep its sea trade, whether between the Islands or abroad. At a time when the road system of Tenerife had improved markedly as a result of the building of the main road linking Santa Cruz and Puerto de la Cruz, the latter ran the risk of finally losing its importance as a port. For this reason , when King Alfonso XIII visited the Island in 1906, the most was made of the opportunity to try to convince him of the importance of expanding and improving the New Harbour. But the project was shelved. Then they thought up the idea of a wharf at El Penitente. Luis Rodríguez de la Sierra Padrón presented a project to the Ministry of Public Works to construct a wharf with its foundations on two flat-topped crags called El Rosario and El Penitente. The project was given Ministry approval on 23rd October 1910 and the first stone laid with great solemnity on 18th September 1911. However, work advanced very slowly since, apart from the fact that the funds had run out, the winter storms destroyed a large part of the work. In addition, the outbreak of the First World War slowed things further. In 1922 Ricardo José Yeoward requested permission from the Mayor to build and operate a crane at El Penitente, just as the Fyffes Company Limited had done shortly before. The idea was to speed up the loading of fruit, traditionally done by means of lighters. Finally in 1926 the Mayor Juan González Sanjuán approached the Ministry of Public Works for permission to carry out work to enlarge and reform the wharf at El Penitente, including better access, the installation of a crane and widening of the esplanade. Work started in 1928, when the then Mayor Isidoro Luz Cárpenter seized the opportunity of General Primo de Rivera’s visit to request one and a half million Pesetas to finish the work, which were finally concluded around 1930.

The real emblem of Puerto de la Cruz for tourists is the Martiánez Coast Municipal Complex, a modern, inviting arrangement of large, artificial sea-water pools designed in a superbly original manner, integrating them in their environment , by the Lanzarote artist Cësar Manrique. These facilities, equipped with restaurants, bars and all sorts of services, receive around a million visitors annually. The complex covers a total area of 46,000 square metres. The very oldest part – the only part not designed by Manrique – is the pools at San Telmo, built in the 1970s. The second area, the central part of the Complex called Los Alisios [Trade Winds] was built in 1971. It has three circular swimming pools and a central island-bar with a 25-metre high ship’s mast. Towards the east is the third area, the great Artificial Lake covering 33,000 sq metres, opened in 1977. In the middle of the great Lake, which holds 27,000 cubic metres of water, is situated the Lake Island, under which , below sea-level, the new Taoro Casino has opened up. Originally this underground space was used as a dance hall. The whole Complex has recently been renovated at a cost of 17 million Euros to the Town Council and the Cabildo [Island Economic Council]. Scattered around the Complex there are seven sculptures by the artist César Manrique, which greatly increase the value of the Complex as a monument: Los Alisios, La Jibia, Barlovento, Homenaje al Mar, Raíces al cielo, Homenaje a William Reich y Demios. [the Trade Winds, the Cuttlefish, Windward, Homage to the Sea, Roots to the Sky, Homage to William Reich and Demios.]

The town’s Gambling Casino is located in the central island of the artificial lake in the Martiánez Complex. Its aim is to offer the best facilities in a luxurious setting accessible to all.

In the main hall four roulette wheels and four card tables are available, and in what used to be called the San Telmo Lido are the slot machines, the two areas connected by a pavement the length of the Complex.

These are first-class facilities, complemented by an innovative lighting system identical to that used for the Eiffel Tower, the Acropolis in Athens, the Palace of Versailles or Big Ben in London.

Opposite the Ventoso Mansion is the the Iriarte Family House built at the end of the XVIII Century and exhibits the essential elements of traditional Canary architecture. The Iriarte brothers were born in the house and achieved fame at national level for their literary and political work in the Age of Enlightenment. One of them was the distinguished writer of fables Tomás de Iriarte y Nieves-Ravelo. 

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The rear of the Ventoso Mansion is bounded by another major building of the XVIIIth Century, now in a state of abandon, which was the birthplace in 1796 of the chronicler and Mayor José Agustín Alvarez Rixo. The son of Portugese merchants, he initiated the collecting and conservation of the Municipal archives, and as well as being a politician, writer, health inspector and Magistrate, he became the correspondent of the British newspaper “The Times”. Wrought iron balconies adorn its elegant façade.