Manriques Lanzarote

Around the world there are lots of wonderful places to enjoy a holiday. But not many of these destinations cannot come close to Lanzarote for cultural attractions. As this small Canary Island located off the African coast is the birthplace of a famous artist called César Manrique. Who created unique cultural attractions and who exerted an enormous influence on the islands development.

Many visitors to the island simply come for the almost guaranteed weather but Lanzarote has an often missed rich cultural background as well for anyone wishing to explore it,and with an excellent choice of Lanzarote holiday villas you’ll be unlucky if you cannot find somewhere decent to stay

Manrique´s imprint is everywhere on the island of his birth. Tourists leaving the airport encounter his massive bronze wind toy ´Homage to Pepin Ramirez´ as they depart from the arrivals hall and head for their Lanzarote villas and apartments. And on route they soon discover that there are no high rise buildings or advertising hoardings blotting the landscape either – as Manrique successfully campaigned to get these outlawed during the 1970´s.

Born in Arrecife, the islands capital, in 1919, Manrique fell in love with the island from a tender age. Thanks to the fact that his parents owned a holiday home in the beautiful northern beach resort of Famara, where they would all spend long summers together. With the young Manrique exploring rock pools and splashing in the tide, where he would delight in seeing the reflection of the Famara cliffs that flanked the bay.

In the late 1960´s though mass market tourism and package holidays were just starting to take off. As General Franco opened Spain up in order to secure much needed foreign currency. Manrique, fearing that his birthplace could become buried beneath a sea of hotels and apartment blocks, returned to Lanzarote – and began his campaign for controlled development on the island.

Manrique was appalled at the potential threat to the islands culture when he returned from his travels but at the same time, Manrique also accepted that his fellow islanders could not continue to live off just fishing and agriculture alone. So Manrique also started work on the creation of a series of seven cultural attractions that would become the mainstay of the island tourist industry to this day. Encompassing brilliant works of architecture such as the Jameos del Agua and the Mirador del Rio. Whilst also campaigning tirelessly for a retrained and sensible approach to construction.

More detailed information about available apartments in Lanzarote can be found on the Lanzarote1.com website.