The great arch we can now see above the pond dates back to the old docks of the Muslim period which existed beneath the palace of La Almudaina, opening directly out into the sea. The arch is thought to date back to the 11th century. S'Hort del Rei was a medieval garden lying outside of the walls of La Almudaina which survived until the 19th century, when it was developed. At the beginning of the 14th century, during the reign of King James II of Mallorca, it enjoyed an age of splendour and was planted with fruit trees, flowers and vegetables. Some animals were also bred there, such as rabbits. In the 1960s, as part of the redevelopment plan for the area surrounding the palace of La Almudaina, the buildings that remained standing were demolished in order to create new gardens with a historicist feel, designed by the Mallorcan architect Gabriel Alomar. This architect combined traditional elements of the Mallorcan garden, such as the pergola, with others with an Andalusian influence, such as the artificial pond, with fountains reminiscent of the Generalife. It has to be said that this new layout has little in common with the medieval garden. The current avenue Antoni Maura coincides with what was the mouth of the water course of Sa Riera, which flowed down the Rambla, calle Unión and Borne, and divided Palma into "vila de dalt" or the old city (the cathedral side) and "vila de baix" or the lower city (the side with the districts of Sant Jaume and Santa Creu). Sa Riera was dangerous because of flooding. The flood that occurred in 1403 is notorious, causing thousands of people to lose their lives. The water course was diverted outside of the city walls for urban planning purposes in 1612, and today runs down the paseo de Mallorca.
sheeps, steps, nice view, nothing more.
Very Beautiful, Worth Every Step!
We find the site of Sa Canova in the possessió of the same name, some meters away from the road between Artà and Colònia de Sant Pere. The place is well known for the monumental Talayot preserved in it, popularly called Sa Clova des Xot. It is a circular Talayot of 5.5 meters of height and 16.2 meters of diameter, its central column measuring 4.5 meters. Its dimensions make it one of the most impressive Talayots of the island. The function of these constructions varies from place to place but, generally speaking, they related to the identity and territorial boundaries of different communities. Actually, this Talayot was part of an old Talayotic town as we can observe the remains of walls and other structures that were, perhaps, rooms from other circular and square Talayots, and possibly a sanctuary. The foundation of these towns in the island date circa 1000 - 800 BC.
It is believed that its origin is Islamic although its development is linked to the time of the conquest of Mallorca by Jaime I in 1229. The tower was built to guard the coast and serve as a refuge and defense for the inhabitants of the fertile valley of Canyamel, against the frequent incursions of corsairs and invaders. During its more than 700 years of history, the fortress house has undergone numerous alterations and, once the danger of invasions disappeared, it was transformed into a possession dedicated to farm work. When sugar cane cultivation was introduced in the second half of the 15th century, the defensive building changed its original name from Torre d'en Montsó to its current name of Torre de Canyamel.
The route will begin at the Railway Station, located at Plaça d’Espanya, 6. The building housing Sóller train station was the old 17th century fortified house of Can Mayol. Above the entrance arch of the façade, a console displays the date of 1606. It was later converted into a hotel and eventually, at the beginning of the 20th century, into a railway station. The result of the restructuring from 1911-1912 is the art nouveau style preserved in the building, consisting of a series of delicate decorative details on doors, windows, ironwork, platform corbels and the tank in the courtyard, among other places. On leaving the station, to the left, beside the Major water course, you will see before you three examples of the typical railings that border the gardens of many houses in Sóller. Can Penya, Can Isabel and Cas Fideuer display the skilled ironwork of the artisans of the first third of the 20th century. Flowers, rosettes and leaves intertwine in elegant and simple designs. Pines, araucarias (or monkey-puzzle trees) and palms grow in these gardens.
Brilliant old bull ring. empty but atmospheric. definitely worth a visit. free to get in.
Teatre Principal dates from the nineteenth century and which boasts a new image after 6 years of reforms: the structure of the building has been reinforced, all the service infrastructures and accesses have been renovated and the theatre has been equipped with state-of-the-art technology. The stage, for example, has grown from 14 to 23 metes, which will allow practically all kinds of performances to be held. In addition, as a historic building, special care has been made to restore Teatre Principal as it was when it first opened in 1932. The main hall has recovered its original structure, the amphitheatre has been eliminated, the loge system is now in use again, the so-called tertulia hall has been recovered and Felix Cagé's ceiling paintings have been restored.
If anything characterises Mallorca and Menorca’s prehistory, it is what is called the Talayotic culture. It is believed to have emerged towards the end of the second millennium BC, and it lasted until Rome’s conquest of the islands in 123 BC. Yet even after the Roman incursion, Balearic society continued to live in its Talayotic settlements for decades. In the midst of a bucolic holm oak grove in Artà, in northeast Mallorca, lies the Ses Païsses settlement. It attracts not just tourists but also scholars of Mallorca’s prehistory given its perfectly typical structure. A series of constructions surrounds a central talayot measuring 4.5 metres tall, and all of this is enclosed by an oval-shaped wall measuring 374 metres in perimeter. This wall, one of the best conserved from this Period on Mallorca, is believed to date from 800 BC. It is made of impressive large stone slabs with a lintelled door. On the grounds we can distinguish two different clusters of buildings. The first one, dominated by the talayot, consists of a series of rooms and a hall with the remains of three columns. The second one has two rooms in an apsidal layout. Recent studies point to a crisis in around 500 BC which changed the life in the Talayotic settlements on Mallorca and transformed its society. Some remains found at Ses Païsses, such as ceramics and iron items from other Mediterranean civilisations, were most certainly introduced by the slingshot wielders (foners), who, due to their prowess with the slingshot, were recruited as warriors by the Carthaginians.
Next to the Town Hall is the Council of Mallorca, today’s governmental body for the island of Mallorca. The origins of the building lie in the old Diputación Provincial, a government institution dating back to the 19th century which was responsible for constructing this building with an outstanding Neo-Gothic façade, designed by the architect Joaquín Pavía y Birmingham in 1882. The fascinating carvings are the work of the artist Llorenç Ferrer i Martí. The highlights of the interior are the fabulous staircase and the meeting chamber. Interesting paintings by Mallorcan artists can be seen in the different areas. This street owes its name to the Almudaina Royal Palace, which stands at the end of it. For centuries, the famous convent of Santo Domingo, a magnificent Gothic monument, stood on the right-hand side. Demolished in 1837 as a consequence of the law on the confiscation of church property introduced by the State, new bourgeois homes were built on the site, forming a wonderful combination of urban architecture from the late 19th century and early 20th century. Of particular interest is the current Parliament building of the Balearic Islands, built as the registered offices of the Círculo Mallorquín, and containing some truly magnificent rooms, including the function room, now the Parliament chamber.
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