The rather grand building complex known as La Misericòrdia in Palma is situated at the top end of the Rambla dels Ducs de Palma de Mallorca, adjoining the Vía Roma.

Historically, La Misericòrdia must have been somewhat morbid and forbidding. Initially, the cemetery of Camp Roig was placed here, where the dead were buried from the nearby Hospital General. Later, after the 17th century, a monastery was established there, which still later, during the 19th century, was converted into a psychiatric asylum for the elderly as well as an orphanage for the very young ones. Both institutions were closed down at the end of the Seventies, when ownership passed into the hands of the Consell de Mallorca. The Jardín Botánico de la Misericòrdia could also be found there in the old days, which sadly is no longer.

Today the Misericòrdia complex houses a number of Consell departments, a Centre de Cultura, a public library, an exhibition centre, one of Palma’s best stocked bookshops on Balearic matters, a museum dedicated to Mallorcan sports, the much reduced Jardín de la Misericòrdia, plus a few other bits and pieces. The building looks just as grand as it has ever looked.

The photo (top) was chosen from my archive. It was taken in Palma de Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: May 29th, 2008. The time was 13:48:47. The photo (bottom) is the reproduction of a postcard from the Twenties.