Palma De Mallorca. Spain - April 28, 2023

Palma is a resort city and capital of the Spanish island of Mallorca (Majorca), in the western Mediterranean. The massive Santa María Cathedral (also know as La Seu), a Gothic landmark begun in the 13th century, overlooks the Bay of Palma.  This vast cathedral built on a previous mosque which was built atop an original Christian church. 

Although this picture is a bit blurry it is such a great showing of the sea in front of the cathedral with the mountains circling around in the back.

Although construction of the present Cathedral began in 1229, it did not finish until 1601. The visual feat of the rose windows is nothing but a tribute to the amazing talents of architects, builders and mathematicians of the cathedral which was built from 1230 on and completed only nearly 400 years later, in 1601.

Rose window front of church

Rose Window in the back of the church

On the day of the Winter solstice, the light of the rising sun enters through the large stained-glass rose window on the east façade of La Seu (Palma’s cathedral), leaving straight through the rosetted window on the west front and giving an awe-inspiring impression from the distance as if the cathedral was being illuminated from the inside which of course it never is at that time of day.

Inside the church while we visited, however, was also incredibly infused with light from these windows.  Lighting streaming in from the front window with the back window in view of this picture.

Bathing the pews

Local architect Antoni Gaudí was drafted to restore the building in 1901.  One of the most dramatic additions was the enormous crown-of-thorns illuminated canopy that hangs over the altar; although attributed to Gaudí, the work was actually completed by one of his pupils and a colleague. The canopy appears to be a crown of thorns and at this time the lights hanging from the canopy were lit giving it a two tiered effect. You can see the east facing rose window behind it.

A 21st century change was the reformation of the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament by Mallorcan artist Miquel Barceló, from Felanitx. Its modern design is not to everybody’s taste but it definitely provokes a reaction. It was just too curious not to include some pictures of it. Before I read this description I thought it was the morass from which life was created...

Barceló’s passion for the sea is one of the central themes of his work. In this sense, despite its religious theme, the retable stands, at the same time, as a kind of homage to the ocean. The stained glass windows are designed to create different atmospheres that vary depending on the time of day or the season. Fish, water, and marine motifs cover the ceramic wall, bathed in a changing light. Rising above the visitor’s view, the chapel offers a peek into the ocean and the life of the deep sea, which is one of the main inspirations for Barceló.

After visiting the cathedral we wandered the Arab quarter of Palma (The ancient quarter of Palma, the capital of the Balearic Islands is filled with charming streets and fascinating stone staircases, galleries, arcades. The old houses have magnificent patios which one can see through heavy wooden doors and wrought-iron gates still present on some of the premises. These are all remnants of the Arab era when Palma was once a great city in the Mediterranean region.)  This area was definitely clean, well maintained, charming and meandering. Very fun to visit and definitely requires a return visit.

We did not visit the Arab baths - They are hidden on a tiny street in the old city, surrounded by beautiful gardens. These baths are the only entire Arab structures to remain and are believed to have been part of the household belonging to a nobleman. They are one of the most popular tourist attractions in Palma de Mallorca. The baths remain as the last testimony to the presence of Arabs on the island more than three hundred years ago.  They were built in the 10th century.