THE CHURCH OF NUESTRA SENORA DE LA PENA DE FRANCIA PUERTO DE LA CRUZ

Puerto's main church, the Church of Our Lady of the Rock of France, was started in the 1680s and took nearly 20 years to complete -  even then it lacked the pale angular bell tower, added as an afterthought some 200 years later. Standing among the tall palms and flowering shrubs near the elegant central fountain (in the shape of a swan) in Plaza de la Iglesia, the church possesses a sombre dignity. The baroque interior is decorated with some fine statuary, as well as an ornate altarpiece by Luis de la Cruz in a side chapel. The organ comes from London it was ordered and installed in 1814 by Bernardo de Cologan, one of several Canary islanders of Irish origin. Notice, too, the striking pulpit: its wood has been painted to look like marble.