César Manrique: Art, Nature & Sustainability in Lanzarote
I’m back with another travel tale following a dear friend’s prompting, and this time, we’re talking about a true visionary. If you’ve ever been to the stunning island of Lanzarote, you’ll know that it’s unlike anywhere else. There are no high-rise hotels (bar one!), no gaudy billboards, and a beautiful, harmonious blend of white-washed buildings and dramatic volcanic landscapes. This isn’t an accident. It’s all thanks to one man: César Manrique.
Manrique was an artist, an architect, a sculptor, and, most importantly, an ecologist. He was born on the island and, after spending time in bustling Madrid and New York, he returned in the 1960s with a singular mission: to protect his homeland from the ravages of mass tourism. His philosophy was simple: “Art-Nature/Nature-Art.” He believed that art should not compete with nature but rather enhance it, and he used the entire island as his canvas.
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