DK Travel : Mallorca : History & Culture

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Sant Joan Baptista Belfry

Located in the town of Muro, this beautiful bell tower seems almost Arabic, so slender is the arch that joins it to the imposing church. However, it sports other elements that recall Gothic and Renaissance styles, including stone carvings, a decorative door and coffers. The square in which it is situated is one of the island’s prettiest (see Muro).
Ses Covetes

Midway along the beach at Es Trénc is the site of what were probably ancient Roman burial grounds, where ashes of the dead were placed in small niches. It is called a columbarium (dovecote) because it resembles a pigeon house, with small openings lined up in rows.
Ses Païsses

These Bronze Age remains form one of Mallorca’s most impressive prehistoric sites. The defensive wall, composed of huge square blocks, is an example of the Mediterranean Cyclopean style – so-named by later cultures who believed that only a giant like the Cyclops could have built such a structure.
Since 1945

Generalissimo Francisco Franco instigates the development of mass tourism, which brings a much-needed influx of foreign money. This transforms Mallorca from a backwater to one of the 21st century’s choicest venues of international stardom.
Talaia d’Albercutx

At the highest point on the Península de Formentor is a tower that seems wondrous for having been built at all in such a precipitous place. At this height, the wind howls, and the views are like those from a helicopter. The road to it is perilous, too (see Watchtower).
The Kingdom of Mallorca

Despite Jaume’s liberal treatment of islanders, and his laws embodied in the Carta de Població, the territory descends into turmoil after his death, due to rivalry between his sons. Eventually, his son Jaume II is restored and succeeded by his son Sanç and Sanç’s nephew Jaume III.
The Reconquista

In 1229, King Jaume I of Aragón rises to oppose the Balearic Moors. His forces first land on the western coast of the island at Santa Ponça, from where he marches eastwards to lay siege to Medina Mayurqa (the Moorish name for Palma). The city falls to him on 31 December, after three months.
Torre Verger

At the Mirador de ses Anímes, a watchtower, built in 1579, provides what must be among the finest views of the entire western coastline. You can climb up into the stone structure and stand on the topmost level, just as watchmen must have done in the dark centuries when Mallorca was subject to almost incessant attack by North African brigands (see also Mirador de ses Anímes).
Unification with Spain

In 1344 the islands are once again thrown into chaos when united with Aragón by Pedro IV. Jaume III is killed during a feeble attempt to retake his kingdom. In 1479, with the marriage of Fernando V of Aragón and Isabella I of Castile, Aragón is in turn absorbed into a new Spanish superstate. The islands become an outpost of little importance, ushering in centuries of decline.
Vandal Invasion

No sooner is the new province officially recognized, however, than the Vandals sweep across the Balearics in about AD 425, swiftly ending Roman rule. So destructive is their takeover that few traces of the Romans are left.