Teguise, the capital corsairs sacked for two centuries

Villa de Teguise was the capital of Lanzarote for more than four centuries, until the title passed to Arrecife in 1852. It was built inland precisely to stay away from the sea, and it was not enough: through the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Barbary corsairs came this far inland more than once.

The most remembered sacking is that of 1586, led by Morato Arráez. Episodes like it gave a lane in the old town its name, the Callejón de la Sangre. Above the village, on the Guanapay cone, stands the Castillo de Santa Bárbara, which today houses the museum devoted to piracy.

What to see today

The old town holds the Palacio Spínola, the church of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe and the Convento de Santo Domingo. The timple, the small Canary stringed instrument, has its house-museum here.

On Sunday mornings the village hosts the island's largest market and changes character completely: arrive early and park outside the centre.

Sources: Ayuntamiento de la Villa de Teguise; Cabildo de Lanzarote.