Realejo Alto

Realejo Alto was the place where the latest developments of the Conquest of the Canary Islands took place.

Realejo Alto, declared a Cultural Heritage Site in 2014 under the category of ‘Historic Complex’, is an urban setting where the remaining examples of its historic architecture can be found.

The urban setting to the south of the church of Saint James the Apostle, which lies at the heart of the former Realejo de Arriba municipality, originated with the Castilian camp set up by Alonso Fernández de Lugo in the Taoro Valley. This ushered in the completion of the conquest of the island in 1496 with the surrender of the aborigines [‘guanches’] that camped in Realejo Bajo.

It’s a complex of great heritage interest, which has managed to survive the exacerbated impact of town planning implemented in the 1970s and 1980s.

The axis of the square of Santiago Apóstol church and El Medio de Arriba street still shows a historical image as a symbolic vestige of a bygone traditional urban centre.