The historic hermitage of Machado, in El Rosario, was packed this week as locals, historians and visitors gathered for the presentation of a new 360º virtual tour exploring three of the area’s most important heritage sites.
And honestly, it’s one of those projects that probably should have existed years ago.
The new immersive experience allows anyone to virtually visit:
⛪ The Hermitage of Machado
🏠 The House of corsair Amaro Pargo
🥾 The Old Camino de Candelaria
All from a mobile phone, tablet, computer or even virtual reality glasses.
Not bad for a small hillside village with roots stretching back more than five centuries.
Bringing Tenerife’s History Online
The project was created by retired surveyors and professors Ángel Adán and Beatriz García, alongside University of La Laguna professor José Luis Saorín.
The aim is simple:
Protect and share Tenerife’s historical heritage using modern technology that anyone can access for free.
The virtual experience also includes:
📜 Historical research
✏️ Original sketches
🏛️ 3D recreations
🎥 Multimedia content
🧭 Historical explanations about the old pilgrimage route to Candelaria
The whole thing feels somewhere between a museum, documentary and digital time machine.
The Story of Amaro Pargo Lives Again
One of the most talked-about moments during the presentation was the AI recreation of famous Canarian corsair Amaro Pargo.
Using historical paintings, landscape photography and 3D modelling, organisers created a digital version showing how the pirate may have looked both as a younger man and later in life around the age of 65.
The recreated figure even appeared in a projected video greeting the audience outside his historic house in Machado.
Which probably wasn’t a sentence anybody expected to read ten years ago.
Historic Models of the Corsair’s House
The event also showcased three physical models of the historic Casa de Amaro Pargo, based on original sketches created in 1975 before the building fell into ruin.
Among them were:
🏠 An original model by Bernardo Parrilla
🖨️ A 3D-printed educational version created by the University of La Laguna
🎨 A handcrafted artistic model painted by sculptor Florencio Pérez
Together, they offered a glimpse into what the historic house looked like decades ago.
Music, History and Community Support
Canarian musician Benito Cabrera also collaborated with the project, allowing organisers to use his composition Una Habanera para Amaro as the official soundtrack.
A video message from Cabrera was played during the event and received a warm response from the audience.
The presentation drew representatives from:
- The University of La Laguna
- Tenerife Cabildo
- El Rosario, Santa Cruz and Candelaria councils
- Cultural and heritage organisations across Tenerife
A reminder that even smaller corners of the island still carry huge amounts of history… if somebody takes the time to preserve it properly.
Virtual Tour Links
🌐 360º Virtual Tour:
https://app.cloudpano.com/tours/afFpOKa-9
🏛️ 3D Reconstruction of the House:
https://casahibrido.revingarq.com/