The Landed Manor of Els Calderers
The country estate of Els Calderers near Sant Joan is one of Mallorca’s old possessiós (Manor Houses) dating originally from the 13th century. Today’s main house was built around 1750. […]
Death in Venice
It must be one of life’s ironies that Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 should be played tonight at Palma’s Auditorium, in the very week when the Conservatives won the popular […]
The Capilla de Son Real
In the old days, Mallorcan Manor houses used to have their own chapel either within their residence or else, within their grounds. Some of these capillas are on public view, […]
The Mallorcan Automobile Industry
During the early 20th century, automobiles were built in Spain only in Madrid, Barcelona and, believe it or not, Palma de Mallorca. In 1920, Señores Rafael de Lacy y Gual, […]
The Ni-Ni Generation
Spain is a very particular country. Having lived here, in Mallorca, for close to 24 years I cannot but notice that everything and everyone everywhere is different from anywhere else […]
The International Museum Day
Yesterday, the International Museum Day was celebrated worldwide with some 30,000 museums participating. In Mallorca, there are perhaps seventy museums, half of which joined this initiative organized by ICOM, the […]
The Muro de la Memoria
Last Friday, a memorial was inaugurated for the henceforth unnamed victims of the Guerra Civil (Spanish Civil War) in Palma’s Cementerio Municipal (municipal cemetery). I went to the cemetery yesterday […]
The Emir’s Arch
Unfortunately, not many buildings remain of the Moorish period, here on the island of Mallorca, and only scarce remnants can be seen of the former Islamic religious architecture. Apart from the […]
MCMXCIX
The sundial facing the Plaça Nova in Sant Llorenç des Cardassar belongs to the Vicario (vicarage) building. I guess that it was designed sometime around 1895 to 1905. The inscription […]
Moorish Attacks in Sóller
450 years ago today, on May 11th 1561, some 2,000 Moorish intruders arrived in the Port de Sóller from Algeria, and their intentions were unfriendly, hostile and violent. The attack […]
Holocaust in Mallorca
In Spain, during the 15th to 19th centuries, members of the Jewish religion, as well as other transgressors such as Protestants, blasphemers, sodomites, bigamists and crypto-Jews, suffered severe persecution, expulsion […]
Jurassic Park
The island of Mallorca, and the Balearic Islands in general, were probably formed some 400 to 300 million years ago. Allow me to quote from the Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911 edition […]
The Resurrection
Without much doubt, Easter is probably the most important religious festivity in the Mallorcan calendar, and the most family oriented celebration as well. For a start, the 40 days of […]
The Pietà
Good Friday celebrations centre around the Davallament, here in Felanitx, a performance of the Passion Play which has been staged, here, ever since 1975. The Davallament is the story of […]
Gaudí’s Amazing Sounding Board
In about 1903-04, or thereabouts, Antoni Gaudí designed an amazing contraption for the main pulpit of Palma’s Cathedral. At the time, microphones, loudspeakers or electric amplifiers were not invented, yet, […]
Bearing His Own Cross
Dijous Sant (Maundy Thursday, Castellano: Jueves Santo) marks the last day of this year’s Quaresma (Lent). Yesterday evening, hundreds of hooded penitents participated in the annual Processó de la Sang, […]
The Mallorca Photo Blog 