Where the Island Preserves Its Memory – The Fuerteventura Grain Museum
Anyone driving through the barren north of Fuerteventura, along the FV-10 road, past lava fields and under a vast sky, will notice a simple, whitewashed building in La Oliva. It is not a museum that makes a noise – it breathes. The Museo del Grano la Cilla, the La Oliva Grain Museum, quietly recounts a time when the survival of the people on this island was directly linked to the wind, the rain and the soil.
A Granary Steeped in History – La Cilla Fuerteventura
The name says it all: La Cilla is derived from the Latin cella – warehouse, storeroom, cellar. Built as early as 1819, the building once served as a storehouse for the region’s grain. Today, it is a historic museum on Fuerteventura, which has been restored with remarkable care. Only the same building materials used at the time were employed: the walls, repaired with a mixture of straw and clay, bear witness to a craftsmanship that has stood the test of time. The original structure has been left untouched – a decision you can sense the moment you step inside.
Tradition, Harvest and Dependence – Traditional Agriculture on Fuerteventura
Inside, a tranquil panorama of rural life unfolds. Visitors walking through the exhibition rooms of the Museo del Grano discover just how deeply the people of this island depended on the weather – on every shower, every trade wind. Original agricultural implements for sowing, threshing and processing grain are lined up like silent witnesses to harvests of the past. Photographic records authentically show how arable farming was practised on Fuerteventura right up until the 1970s – a world that seems almost unimaginable today.
Particularly fascinating: the information on old Spanish units of measurement and weight, which once governed trade and today sound like words from a forgotten language.
After the Museum: Refuel in the Canteen
Anyone feeling peckish after taking in so much history can relax over traditional Canarian dishes in the museum canteen – before setting off again on the journey through the north of the island.
Practical Information
Address: Calle La Orilla s/n, E-35650 La Oliva | Tel.: +34 928 868 729
Opening hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 – 18:00 | Mondays & Sundays closed
Getting there: Take the FV-10 road heading north-west via La Matilla – approx. 1.5 km after La Matilla, continue north to La Oliva.
