For a small island – measuring just 58km long by 34 km wide - Lanzarote has long been hugely popular with overseas visitors.  Thanks to this speck of Spain’s idyllic location – just seventy miles off the coast of Africa.  And on the same line of latitude as parts of Florida, Mexico and the Bahamas.  Creating a fantastically clement year round climate that has in the passed earned Lanzarote the sobriquet of the Island of Eternal Spring. 

Add in over ninety great beaches, a unique set of tourist attractions and bearable four hour flights to Lanzarote from both the UK and Ireland and it’s no wonder that the island has become a year round favourite with sun starved Northern Europeans. 

Lanzarote was first conquered by the Spanish crown back in the 1400´s – under the aegis of as Norman noble called Jean de Bethencourt.  For centuries the island was an important staging post between the New World and Spain – with galleons regularly transporting Inca gold and silver via the Canary Island.  Leading to endless incursions from English privateers such as Raleigh and Drake. 

This state of affairs forced the Spanish crown to militarise and reinforce the island during the 1600 and 1700´s – which helped to consolidate Lanzarote´s position as an important outpost of the Empire and further cement the island to Spanish rule. 
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Teror, a charming little town with some of the best examples of colonial-style mansions, life has always been dominated by the 18^th century Basilica de la Virgen del Pino (Madonna of the Pine Tree) - the third church on this spot - which in 1515 was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The main features of the large triple-nave interior of the Basilica are the vast Baroque altar with the richly clothed, wooden carved figure of the Virgin, surrounded by votive gifts and symbols, many religious statues created by Luján Pérez and five of the most significant Rococo paintings on the island.The legend has it that in 1481 a vision of the Virgin Mary had appeared to some shepherds on the top of a pine tree and since then Nuestra Señora del Pino (Our Lady of the Pines) played an important role in the history and the everyday life of the people of Gran Canaria. When in 1914 the Pope Pius XII proclaimed her patron saint of the island, the small town of Teror, with its sanctuary, became the religious capital of the island.

Every year, on the 8^th of September, the Fiesta de la Virgen del Pino (Feast of Our Lady of the Pines) is celebrated and numerous pilgrims from all over the island come to Teror to pay reverence to the saint. This feast is not only the biggest event in the region – it is also the most important religious festival on the island’s calendar and the celebrations usually go on for one week.
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