Raixa, a jewel in Mallorca?s heritage.

Monuments | Bunyola

Palace dating from the XVIII century with a magnificent stairway and lovely gardens. Located in the township of Bunyola, this estate includes an ancient Mallorcan house boasting one of the loveliest gardens on the island. It was purchased by the Ministry of the Environment and the Council of Mallorca in 2002, and it was slated to be converted into a major international environmental centre. It is also a piece of island history, which spans a period between the 15th and 19th centuries. It's clear historical value led the government of the Balearic Islands to protect it by declaring it an Asset of Cultural Interest. Its gardens just beckon you to get lost with a great book in your hands, to retreat from the noise of the world for a spell just as the driving force behind the most important refurbishment of the home, Antoni Despuig i Dameto (1745-1813), must have done. Despuig turned the estate into a magnificent classical palace with an Italianate air whose ground floor houses an important art collection. The history of Raixa, nestled at the foot of the Sierra de Tramuntana (Tramuntana mountain range), dates back to the presence of the Muslims on Mallorca, who chose this site for founding their ARaixa farmstead because of its plentiful water and fertile lands. Next to it is another estate, Biniatzar, which is said to have been the exemplary olive-producing farmstead during the Islamic times. After the Catalans conquered the island in the 13th century, Raixa was passed among a series of owners, such as the Zaforteza-Tagamanent family, until it fell into the hands of the Despuig family in the 17th century.