Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
As in other parts of Spain, Islamic influences were evident in some aspects of building
through the Gothic period. In Mallorca this Mudéjar style is not immediately evident in
external facades, but a handful of beautiful artesonados (coffered wood ceilings) remain.
Those in Palma's Palau de l'Almudaina are outstanding. The beautiful artesonado in the
manor house at Palma's Jardins d'Alfàbia appears to be an Islamic relic.
VILLAGE ARCHITECTURE
Deià, Fornalutx, Biniaraix, Valldemossa, Banyalbufar, Orient - you'll tick off villages
like rosary beads on the roads that loop through the Serra de Tramuntana in west-
ern Mallorca. Each one is seemingly prettier than the last, with many clinging to
hillsides that rear above the glinting sea or cupped in valleys framed by terraced
olive groves and citrus orchards.
They are a striking counterpoint to the concrete monstrosities that too often
predominate in the resort towns of the south and east. That's primarily because
the villages are built using the soft-hued local stone that is burnished in the warm
Mediterranean light.
Renaissance & Baroque
Renaissance building had a rational impulse founded on the architecture of classical an-
tiquity, but it seems to have largely passed Mallorca by. Some exceptions confirm the
rule, such as the (later remodelled) main entrance to Palma's Catedral, Palma's Consolat
de Mar building and the mostly Renaissance-era sea walls. Although decorated in
baroque fashion, the Monestir de Lluc is basically late Renaissance, and was designed by
sculptor and architect Jaume Blanquer (c 1578-1636).
The more curvaceous and, many would say, less attractive successor to the Renais-
sance was a moderate, islandwide baroque that rarely reached the florid extremes that
one encounters elsewhere in Europe. It is most often manifest in the large churches that
dominate inland towns. In many of the churches, existing Gothic structures received a
serious reworking, evident in such elements as barrel vaulting, circular windows, and
bloated and curvaceous pillars and columns. Church exteriors are in the main sober (with
the occasional gaudy facade). An exception can be found in the retablos ( retaules in
Catalan), the grand sculptural altarpieces in most churches. Often gilt and swirling with
ornament, this was where baroque sculptors could let their imaginations run wild.
Yet perhaps the most pleasing examples of Mallorca's interpretation of the baroque
style comes in the patis that grace old Palma's mansions. Drawing on Islamic/Andalusian
and Roman influences, dictated by a warm Mediterranean climate, these courtyards rep-
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