Some of the nicest places in Mallorca are those that we have yet to discover. Take Palma, for example, and the Jardí de Natzaret, in Paseo Marítimo below the Terreno district, just above from the Club de Mar and next door to the Abraxas club. The only problem is that you will probably not find the entrance to the gardens. The access is well hidden. It took me half a dozen attempts and numerous inquiries to finally get into the gardens, only yesterday. The thing is that the gardens (not the property) are public domain under the auspices of the Consell de Mallorca. The Jardines de Nazaret were included in the BIC catalogue (Bienes de Interés Cultural) in 2007.

The gardens are part of the Fundación Natzaret, a church-run charity taking care of, educating and providing accommodation for homeless under-age children and adolescents. It all goes back to the nuns of the Oder of the Caritat in 1924, who received funds and property from a benefactor,  to set-up and found a Missió. Originally, the gardens belonged to the Finca de s’Hort del Terreno. In 1925, an Escuela Natzaret, a school for homeless youngsters was founded. Currently, the property is being renovated in preparation to the children being looked after again. In the meantime, the youngsters are cared for somewhere else on the island, amongst others in outposts in Inca, Manacor and Palma. For male youngsters between the ages of 18 and 21, there exists a so-called Casa del Jove where flats are provided to help with a start into adult life.

If you want to support the charity, you can check details on their website (Castellano and Catalan only). The gardens are at this moment not terribly well-kept but if you want to visit to enjoy the setting and the impressive views you can go to the office/tienda of the Fundación in Avinguda Joan Miró and ask for permission to enter. You will not be disappointed.

The photos (top) and (bottom) were taken in Palma, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: January 3rd, 2012. The time was 12:09:04 and 12:47:38, respectively. The photo (centre) was borrowed from the Internet, courtesy of fundacionatzaret.org.

Moltes gràcies.