The Archaeological Museum of La Gomera

Vision and mission

The reason for being of the museum is based on three areas. The first is the permanent display of the general knowledge we have about the ancient people of La Gomera. A large part of our mission is understood within a very broad concept of education, aimed at the whole community in which the museum staff is included.

The second is the conservation of artefacts, which include information about any aspect of this culture, both artefacts and potential archaeological sites. And the third is research, which is carried out in an essential network with other institutions, companies, associations and individuals.Our mission is preceded by values such as implication, sustainability, networking, humility, community, exploration and proximity. We aim to be a point of reference on our island, and to do our best to ensure that the network within which we work is also a point of reference. The centre is considered merely a starting point, an opportunity in the territory.

The immaterial value of the museum is actually its essence: what we do, discover, preserve, learn and share.

History

The building that houses the museum was built in the second half of the 18th century. Its owner was Miguel de Echeverría y Mayora, a native of Navarra, who was first a soldier, then a politician and businessman; he experienced a meteoric rise on the island that was always linked to the power of the nobility.

The original building also included the house of the Armas-Echeverría family, attached to the archaeological museum. When the two properties were separated in the 19th century, an heir removed the wooden coat of arms from the exterior façade of the building, thus claiming a direct line to the founding lineage of the Echeverría y Mayora family.

In the 20th century, the house was used as a dwelling, and was known by the locals as “La Casa del Cañón” (The House of the Cannon), as a cannon on the corner of the building served as a buttress. On the first floor was the island’s courthouse, in the courtyard there were dwellings and at the back there was a Brass Works.  In the 1980s, the building was bought by an Italian citizen who restored part of its original appearance to the building.

In 1994 the building was acquired by the Government of the Canary Islands to house the Archaeological Museum of La Gomera, which opened its doors on 25th April 2007, managed by the Island Council.

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