Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
10
QuitaPenas
D1
Drinking & Nightlife
11
Aromas
C1
Shopping
12
Es Carreró
C2
Sights
Around town you may notice that most houses bear a colourful tile depicting a nun and
the words '
Santa Catalina Thomàs, pregau per nosaltres'
('St Catherine Thomas, pray
for us'). Yes, Valldemossa has its very own saint.
Real Cartuja de Valldemossa
MONASTERY
(
www.cartujadevalldemossa.com
;
Plaça Cartoixa; adult/child €8.50/4; 9.30am-6.30pm Mon-
Sat, 10am-1.30pm Sun)
This grand old monastery and former royal residence has a
chequered history, once home to kings, monks and a pair of 19th-century celebrities:
composer Frédéric Chopin and George Sand. A series of cells now shows how the monks
lived, bound by an oath of silence they could only break for half an hour per week in the
library. Various items related to Sand's and Chopin's time here, including Chopin's pi-
anos, are also displayed.
The building's origins date back to 1310 when Jaume II built a palace on the site.
After it was abandoned, the Carthusian order took over and converted it into a monastery,
which, in 1388, was greatly expanded. Following the rules of the order, just 13 monks
lived in this cavernous space. The monastery was turned into rental accommodation
(mostly to holidaymakers from Palma) after its monks were expelled in 1835. Entry in-
cludes piano recitals (eight times daily in summer) and Jaume II's 14th-century
Palau de
Rei Sanxo
, a muddle of medieval rooms jammed with furniture and hundreds of years of
mementoes, gathered around a modest cloister.
Casa Natal de Santa Catalina Thomàs
HISTORIC BUILDING
