History
Amongst all of the museums in Palma de Mallorca, the Museo de Mallorca plays a rather special role. The majority of these museums are either owned by the municipality of […]
Animals
The Myotragus balearicus is a small sized wild goat that is as extinct and dead as a dodo. The only chance to see one is in its skeletonised form and […]
Customs & Traditions
Pollença may be in a bit of a dilemma today. The Fiestas de la Patrona de Pollença 2009 started last Saturday, July 25th, with activities scheduled to come to their […]
History
Petra is the birthplace of Miquel Josep Serra i Ferrer, later known as Fray Junípero Serra. He joined the Franciscan order at age 16 and later became the monk who […]
Architecture
Ca’n Marcel is a lavish townhouse in Palma’s old town with Gothic origins. During the 18th century, a French corsair from Marseille acquired the property and added first floor balconies […]
History
There are 14 National Parks in Spain, but only one of them is here in the Balearic Isles: Cabrera. The official name of it is Parque Nacional del Archipiélago de […]
Architecture
Gaspar Bennàssar i Moner was probably the most influential town architect in Palma ever. He was appointed municipal architect in 1901 and worked for Cort (city hall) until his untimely […]
Automobiles
This is the rear window of the horse-drawn carriage that I showed you last August (Carriages before Hispano-Suiza). I had an opportunity to revisit Ca’n Vivot in Palma recently where […]
History
During the middle of the 9th century, Mallorca had agreed a pact of non-agression with the Islamic leaders of al-Andaluz in the southern part of mainland Spain. However, Mallorca appears […]
Art & Artists
A large scale mobile sculpture by American artist Alexander Calder (1898-1976) is on permanent exhibition in Palma’s Jardins de s’Hort del Rei, just below the Palau de l’Almudaina in Passeig […]
Architecture
Ca’n Vivot is located in Carrer Can Savellà, in Palma’s old town. The building was also known as Ca’n Sureda during its time; it dates from the 14th century, but […]
Architecture
The Plaça Porta de Santa Catalina in Palma de Mallorca is a nice and quiet square just as one gets to the Baluard de Sant Pere, now the seat of […]
Animals
It would appear that the once-a-year bullfights in Felanitx, on the occasion of the annual Sant Agustí festivities, will not be happening this year, or possibly ever again. The Felanitx […]
Customs & Traditions
I’m always amazed when small Mallorcan pueblos pride themselves of more than one Catholic church. Petra for instance has two very formidable churches, the església de Sant Bernardí de Sena […]
Architecture
There must be hundreds of kilometers of drystone walls on the island of Mallorca. The technique of drystone building uses nothing but the stone and the tools to hammer and […]
Customs & Traditions
Some people argue that the name for this lovely archipelago, Islas Baleares, has its roots in the word Balearides which apparently means ‘stone slingers’. I cannot vouch for the accuracy […]