Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Arab fort and known as the
Saló del Tinell
(from an Italian word,
tinello
, meaning 'place
where one eats'): a giant banqueting and ceremonial hall. The rooms are graced by peri-
od furniture, tapestries and other curios. The following six bare rooms and terrace be-
longed to the original Arab citadel.
In the main courtyard, the
Patio de Armas
, troops would line up for an inspection and
parade before heading out into the city. The lion fountain in its centre is one of the
palace's rare Arab remnants. Up the grand Royal Staircase are the
royal apartments
, a
succession of lavishly appointed rooms (look up to the beautiful coffered timber
arteson-
ado
ceilings), whose centrepiece is the Saló Gòtic, the upper half of the former Saló del
Tinell, where you can see where those Gothic arches wind up. Next door to the apart-
ments is the royal
Capella de Sant'Anna
, a Gothic chapel whose entrance is a very rare
Mallorcan example of late Romanesque in rose and white marble.
After the death of Jaume III in 1349, no king lived here permanently again.
In the shadow of the Almudaina's walls, along Avinguda d'Antoni Maura, is S'Hort
del Rei (King's Garden).
DON'T MISS
TOP TREASURES OF PALMA CATHEDRAL
Enter the cathedral from the north flank. You get tickets in the first room and then
pass into the sacristy, which hosts the main part of the small
Museu Capitular
(Chapter Museum). At the centre of this is a huge gold-plated monstrance, dating
to 1585, which comes out for the annual Corpus Christi procession. Interesting
items include a portable altar, thought to have belonged to Jaume I. Its little com-
partments contain saints' relics. Other reliquaries include one purporting to hold
three thorns from Christ's crown of thorns.
Next come two chapter houses. In the
Gothic chapter house
by Guillem Sagrera,
note the tomb of Bishop Gil Sánchez Muñoz (Antipope Clement VIII), theTabla de
l'Almoina(Alms Panel) and two paintings by the master Monti-Sion -El Calvario
(The Calvary) andNuestra Señora de la Misericordia(Our Lady of Mercy) - which
allude to a terrible flood in Palma in 1403 that left 5000 dead. The
baroque chapter
house
is exquisite, with its delicately carved stonework and 16th-centuryrelicario
de la vera cruz(reliquary of the true cross) encrusted with gemstones. Your atten-
tion will also be drawn to a matching pair of silver candelabras, each weighing
243kg.
On passing through one of the side chapels into the cathedral itself, your gaze
soars high to the cross vaults, supported by slender, octagonal pillars. The broad
nave
and aisles are flanked by chapels. The walls are illuminated by kaleidoscopic
curtains of stained glass, including 87 windows and eight magnificent rose win-
