Consulate of the Sea

Monuments | Palma de Mallorca

In the garden of la Lonja we can see one of the oldest gates of the city wall. This is known as the Porta del Moll (gate of the quay), built in 1620 by the master builder of the fortification, Antoni Saura, in collaboration with Jaume Blanquer, one of the best Mallorcan sculptors of the time. This is not its original site; the gate was originally inserted into the medieval wall alongside the sea, and then into the new one constructed in the 18th century in front of la Lonja. The gate represents a kind of triumphal arch in the Mannerist style, crowned on the arch by a small statue of the Immaculate Conception. The entablature carries an inscription referring to its construction. This was the main entrance gate to the city, and its artistic and monumental style is in line with the highly symbolic nature of the gates in ancient fortified enclosures. They would display the coats of arms of the king and his counsel, which in the case of the Porta del Moll were removed in the 18th century. Beside the gate stands the Consolat de Mar, now the headquarters of the Balearic Government. This building was originally the home of the Colegio de la Mercaderia, with a beautiful Gothic chapel added to its rear. The Consolat de Mar was an institution that acted as a court in order to resolve maritime conflicts and those between merchants. On the left-hand side we can see Can Chacón, with a beautiful 18th century Baroque gallery, from when the building was owned by this family of Andalusian origin. At the end of the 17th century it was the residence of the military engineer Martín Gil de Gaínza (1650-1737), who had it built above the wall.