Icod de los Vinos
Icod de los Vinos is a municipality in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife on the island of Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, located in the northwestern part of the island. Inhabitants of Icod are known in Spanish as "icodenses".
Icod has an area of, is situated at an altitude of above sea level, and had a population of 23,496 in 2022.
Location
Icod de los Vinos is located on a continuous smooth slope that stretches from the extensive forests of Canary Island Pine down to the sea, and has almost 10 km of shoreline. The town is surrounded by fertile valley, and its streets and corners offer views of the volcanic mountain Teide, as well as dense pine forests which descend from its summit to Icod's higher-altitude districts. Its banana plantations, orchards and vineyards give rise to a lively commerce. The valley is a fertile and agriculturally rich comarca, as shown by the town's full name, Icod de los Vinos.Icod de los Vinos is located about 47 km west of the capital, Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Historical population
| Year | Population |
| 1991 | 21,455 |
| 1996 | 21,364 |
| 2001 | 21,748 |
| 2002 | 21,803 |
| 2003 | 22,358 |
| 2004 | 24,023 |
| 2013 | 23,092 |
| 2014 | 22,913 |
| 2015 | 22,659 |
| 2016 | 22,606 |
| 2017 | 22,558 |
| 2018 | 22,749 |
| 2019 | 23,254 |
| 2020 | 23,316 |
| 2021 | 23,310 |
| 2022 | 23,496 |
History
Founded in 1501, the town is a collection of seigniorial houses, ancient palaces, churches and convents.The name comes from the former menceyato of Icoden, together with a reference to the local wine. The Spanish conquerors were quick to colonize this fertile and well-watered region, and introduced the cultivation of sugarcane and grapevines; the latter came to predominate.
Monuments and places of interest
In the Plaza de Lorenzo Cáceres stands the monument to General José Antonio Páez, founder of Venezuela's independence, whose great-grandfather came from Icod. The town's neighborhoods are sprinkled with innumerable hermitages and other buildings that give Icod great symbolic and artistic value, which can be appreciated at the Museo de Arte Sacro in the church of San Marcos.Ancient Dragon Tree
In Parque del Drago, close to the Church of San Marcos, stands a famous dragon tree, which is reputed to be a thousand years old. While no study seems to have confirmed such longevity for the tree, it is the long-time symbol of Icod.After an abortive attempt by the town council in 2002, another bid to list the Icod Dragon Tree as a UNESCO World Heritage Site was made in 2011.
Church of San Marcos
The is located on the Plaza de Lorenzo Cáceres, the spot where, according to tradition, the Guanches already venerated the saint's icon - una pequeña talla gótica-flamenca - before the conquest.Plaza de La Pila
The Plaza de La Pila, near the Parque del Drago, is bordered by grand old homes, among which the Casa de los Cáceres, now a museum, is distinctive. The plaza itself has a small botanic garden.Plaza de Lorenzo Cáceres
The Plaza de Lorenzo Cáceres with its varied vegetation is located in the environment of the Parque del Drago. This is also the location of the parish church of San Marcos, a Canary-Islands-style church built in the first half of the 16th century. The church has five naves, three of them separated by columns, and two of them having side chapels. Worth seeing on the church's exterior are the stone bell tower and facade. In the interior are kept important images, as well as valuable sculptures; among those that stand out are the statues of St. Mark the Evangelist and Our Lady of the Kings, in late Gothic style, and interesting paintings, including one of the Annunciation.Playa de San Marcos
This sheltered bay on the north coast of Tenerife takes its name from the image of St. Mark the Evangelist venerated in the parish church of Icod which bears his name. This is the same image which appeared in a cave near the seashore during the conquest of the island. Several historians, including Licentiate Juan Nuñez de la Peña, mention its strange and mysterious discovery.The safety provided by this harbor, protected against almost all winds, sheltered by its high encircling cliffs, having good anchorages and a beach, has led navigators ever since the conquest of Tenerife to choose it as a refuge in stormy weather. These advantageous conditions, and the proximity of the rich pine woods which Icod then had in much greater abundance than today, promoted the timber trade and the fabrication of ships. Many galleons and frigates were built in its shipyards for the service of the King of Spain.
Don Luis de la Cueva y Benavides, Governor-General of the Canary Islands and President of their Royal Audiencia, chose this sheltered harbor for the construction of the frigates he had undertaken for the Royal Armada, and for this reason the people who stayed in this place while the ships were being built, including many naval carpenters and caulkers, came to Icod. Timbers were cut in the forest which then existed in the vicinity of the Ermita del Amparo, a place which still records this fact in the name of Corte de Naos which it retains.
The soldiers of the three companies of militia which were then stationed in Icod assisted with great willingness and care, during the construction of the frigates, in everything they were instructed to do by the persons who directed them, and everyone who lived nearby gave up their beds to give comfortable accommodations to the soldiers and workmen Don Luis de la Cueva had brought with him.
The Governor-General was so pleased with the comportment of the militiamen in Icod that before he left, on November 30, 1601, he issued a letter of praise through his scribe, Juan Nuñez de Cain y Zaraza. The letter granted them privileged exemption from forced lodging, participation in night vigils or contributions to them, and exemption from personal service. Furthermore, he ordered that his lieutenants, militia leaders, captains and all other military officers should not compel their men to go to other towns for military parades, but rather that others should come to Icod to perform them. Only when other garrisons were on alert would they have to travel to attend them.
Those were times of constant alarm and fear for the inhabitants of the Canary Islands, because of the frequent appearance of pirates and corsairs in Canarian waters, and every town lived on a war footing to forestall their surprises and excesses. The inhabitants of Icod, attentive to its defense, kept an arsenal of 500 muskets and a reserve of gunpowder in a strategic and secret location. But since the chief danger was at Puerto de San Marcos, even though the latter had been fortified by nature, a strong wall was constructed on the beach, to make the place more accessible to disembarkation, and a watchtower was built on a prominent place in the town, from which its watchmen, which commanded a wider view of the sea than those on the coast, constantly surveyed the horizon.
Today the Playa de San Marcos, protected by shell-shaped cliffs and covered with the black sand characteristic of northern Tenerife, is a place of recreation.
Cueva del Viento
Thought to be the largest volcanic cave in the world, the Cueva del Viento has a known length of over 17 kilometers. It consists of a complex lava tube with several entrances, is the largest lava tube in the European Union. It presents great internal complexity, a wide variety of geomorphological structures, and a unique fauna, both living and fossilized. Other caves, also very extensive, are found in other nooks of the town: these include San Marcos, Punto Blanco, El Rey, and Felipe Reventón.Casa de Los Cáceres
This was formerly the residence of Lorenzo Cáceres, a colonel of engineers. Its three-story neoclassical facade presents traditional quartered windows; a high arched central gate with a stone frame, cornice, and balustrade; this gate between large flowerpots; and a pretty hidden balcony sporting turned balusters in the main window.Icod Public Library
The Icod Public Library has returned to its original venue. The new installations in which it is housed now can—and should—transform it into one of the best bibliographic and cultural centers of reference on the Islands. Today, the library has three branches.- The Central Library is still situated in the San Francisco convent, and already contains close to 13,200 volumes.
- The Library of the Institute of Lucas Martín Espino
- The Santa Barbara Library
Folklore and Customs
Tablas de San Andrés
On 29 November each year, the eve of San Andrés’ day and the official festival of new wine, the storehouses open for all to taste the juice of the year's harvest, accompanied by roasted chestnuts. This festival, deeply rooted among Icod's citizens, involves sliding on "tablas" or boards down the steeply sloping neighborhood streets. The greatest spectacle of the party is seen in Plano street, where these slippery boards are seen speeding along, steered by daring and youthful riders.This tradition was born from the need to transport wood from the highest zones of the municipality down to the workshops where it was used in handicrafts and in naval construction. The wood traveled down El Amparo street on the back of a large board or plank, while "oars" of heather or fayatree branches were used to brake and steer, thus avoiding the endless obstacles that might be in the way. Nowadays other types of "boards" are used—metal, plastic, automotive suspensions , etc. -- which leave the practice dull and far-removed from the origin of the San Andrés boards. Every year the municipal authorities call for an end to these different variations in an effort to preserve the tradition of the "tablas". Many visitors come from other parts of the island to see the annual festival, as do tourists.