In the old days and for hundreds of years Ciutat, the city of Palma, was surrounded and enclosed by a massive fortified city wall. There were nine puertas (entrance gates) into Palma (see plan centre): Puerta de Santa Catalina, Puerta del Sitjar, Puerta Pintada, Puerta de San Anton and Puerta del Campo (from West to East) as well as Puerta de la Tarazana, Puerta del Muelle, La Portella and Puerta de la Calatrava (facing the sea). The Puerta Pintada was also known as Puerta de Santa Margarita (see image top) as it was situated next to the Baluarte de Santa Margarita, one of Palma’s ten bulwarks.

Most of the massive medieval city wall was demolished between 1902 and 1908 when Gaspar Bennàssar, the new municipal planning architect proposed the tearing-down to open up the urban area for expansion beyond the historic city boundaries. There was substantial opposition to some of the demolition plans, especially in the case of the Puerta de Santa Margarita, also formerly known as Puerta de la Conquista as this had been the point of entrance of Jaume el Conquistador, the conqueror, in 1229. Sadly, the civil disagreement did not halt the tearing-down of the Muralla (city wall) or of the various puertas. The Puerta de Santa Margarita was the last one to be pulled down in 1908.

The old Muralla can still be seen today along the seafront below the Cathedral. There you will also find the historic gates of Puerta del Muelle, La Portella (see photo bottom) and Puerta de la Calatrava, still intact.

The postcard was borrowed from the Internet, courtesy of fotosantiguasdemallorca. The plan was borrowed from the Internet, courtesy of mcu.es. The photo (bottom) was borrowed from the Internet, courtesy of Altamar and fabian.balearweb.net.

Muchas gracias.