127
Moments before the recital, each of the monarchs and heads of state who had
attended the inauguration of Roque de los Muchachos Observatory planted
orange trees as a memento. That orchard still stands as an added tourist attraction of La Palma.
The Convent of San Francisco was founded in the sixteenth century, the
first of its buildings dating from 1508. At present, after its restoration, the
Royal Convent of the Immaculate Conception houses the Island Museum of
Fine Arts, Natural Sciences, and Ethnography; the General Archive of La
Palma, and the Island Library José Pérez Vidal. The edifice stands out stylistically for the sobriety of its lines and for the Franciscan austerity of its ornamentation. It is the only convent on the island of La Palma that has been
conserved in its entirety.
At the time, Javier Solana, Professor of Physics at the Complutense
University of Madrid (which is how I had previously come to know him personally), was the Minister of Culture. I went to see him to seek his help in
adding cultural content to the more important ceremonies that we were planning. He was most receptive and took a hand, as we had hoped he would, in
ensuring that some cultural residue of the events would remain on the island.
It was especially thanks to him that his ministry became involved in three
matters: the restoration of two emblematic buildings in Santa Cruz de La
Fig. 13.5 General view of the inauguration ceremony of Roque de los Muchachos
Observatory seen from the purpose-built amphitheatre, with the presidential dais in
the background. (Credit: IAC)
13 Royalty and Heads of State Above the Clouds (1985)
Moments before the recital, each of the monarchs and heads of state who had
attended the inauguration of Roque de los Muchachos Observatory planted
orange trees as a memento. That orchard still stands as an added tourist attraction of La Palma.
The Convent of San Francisco was founded in the sixteenth century, the
first of its buildings dating from 1508. At present, after its restoration, the
Royal Convent of the Immaculate Conception houses the Island Museum of
Fine Arts, Natural Sciences, and Ethnography; the General Archive of La
Palma, and the Island Library José Pérez Vidal. The edifice stands out stylistically for the sobriety of its lines and for the Franciscan austerity of its ornamentation. It is the only convent on the island of La Palma that has been
conserved in its entirety.
At the time, Javier Solana, Professor of Physics at the Complutense
University of Madrid (which is how I had previously come to know him personally), was the Minister of Culture. I went to see him to seek his help in
adding cultural content to the more important ceremonies that we were planning. He was most receptive and took a hand, as we had hoped he would, in
ensuring that some cultural residue of the events would remain on the island.
It was especially thanks to him that his ministry became involved in three
matters: the restoration of two emblematic buildings in Santa Cruz de La
Fig. 13.5 General view of the inauguration ceremony of Roque de los Muchachos
Observatory seen from the purpose-built amphitheatre, with the presidential dais in
the background. (Credit: IAC)
13 Royalty and Heads of State Above the Clouds (1985)