The Dominican Order originated in the south of France at the beginning of the 13th century where the fraternity was known as the Jacobins (Blackfriars in England). Later, during the 15th century the order spread to the Iberian Peninsula. I believe they came to Mallorca during the 16th century where they built a number of churches in places such as Inca, Pollença and Manacor, as well as Palma de Mallorca. During the 17th century, the order founded some convents or monasteries in the very same towns and cities. The Dominican monastery in Palma became the largest of all convents of any denomination here on the island and is said to have been a very imposing and spectacular building complex. But, as a consequence of the Ecclesiastical Confiscations of Mendizabal in 1835, this and other orders were expropriated and sadly, the convent in Palma was subsequently destroyed. The monasteries in Inca, Pollença and Manacor were spared such fate and instead, passed into the hands of the municipal authorities.

In Manacor the church and the adjoining convent go by the name of Sant Vicent. The church was built in 1576, expropriated in 1837 and redeemed by the Catholic Church in 1908. A visit there is justified for the splendid Rosario chapel and the exceptional organ dating from the 18th century. The Claustre de Sant Vicent was built somewhat later in 1617 and renovated only two or three years ago. The convent used to be the seat of the Ajuntament de Manacor. The Sala de Actes is still situated here, as is the municipal library and some other town hall departments.

Outside of the church there is a sculpture of the cross of Sant Vicent dating from 1488. The campanario (bell tower) is graced by a large sundial possibly dating from 1775 (see photo below).

The photos were taken in Manacor, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: February 25th, 2011. The time was 16:50:00 and 17:00:03, respectively.