DK Travel : Mallorca : History & Culture

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Emir of Córdoba

This Muslim leader conquered Mallorca and Menorca in the 10th century.
Fundació Pilar i Joan Miró

The prolific career of Catalan master Joan Miró in all its depth and variety: few artists have had such a brilliant showcase built for them.
Hannibal

The Carthaginian leader is said to have been born on the island of Cabrera, just off Mallorca (Ibiza and Malta also claim his birthplace).
Jardins d’Alfàbia

Although later Renaissance and Baroque touches are evident in the gardens and house, the underlying Arabic styling predominates. The many watercourses are a distinctly Moorish touch, as well as the little oasis-like groves of trees encircling pools, where you can sit and enjoy the fresh air and the music of gurgling rivulets.
Jaume I

Christian king who took the islands back from the Moors in the 13th century and established remarkably liberal laws.
Jaume II

The rightful heir to Jaume I. He and his descendants carried on Jaume I’s legacy until Mallorca was rejoined to the kingdom of Aragón.
Moorish Conquest

In 902, the Moors occupy the islands and turn them into a fiefdom of the Emirate of Córdoba. Through a succession of dynastic changes, they hold on for the next 327 years and forcibly convert all the inhabitants to Islam.
Museu de Mallorca

It’s worth the entrance fee just to see the building, a 17th-century palace built on the foundations of one of Mallorca’s earliest Arab houses. The museum contains some fascinating exhibits, providing a quick overview of Mallorca from prehistory to the 20th century. There are some powerful recreations of Neolithic and Bronze Age tombs and dwellings, and several treasures from Roman times. Some gorgeous examples of Modernista furniture are on the top floor – in particular a console with a daringly asymmetrical design (see aslo Museu de Mallorca, Palma).
Museu Diocesà

Just behind the cathedral, the 17th-century Palau Episcopal houses a little diocese museum. On display are items from various churches in Mallorca as well as a selection of majolica tiles. Particularly noteworthy are: a picture of St George slaying the dragon in front of Palma’s city gate, painted in 1468–70 by Pere Nisart; Bishop Galiana’s panel depicting the life of St Paul (who is portrayed holding a sword); the Gothic pulpit in a Mudéjar (Spanish-Moorish) style; and the jasper sarcophagus of Jaume II, which stood in the cathedral until 1904. The palace itself, which is built around a large courtyard, adjoins the city walls. (See also Museu Diocesà, Palma).
Palau de l’Almudaina

Having been a royal palace for over 1,000 years, this building’s style speaks of its long, fractious history with an uneasy blending of Islamic and Gothic elements.