This gothic church was begun to build in the 13th century over an Arab mosque; it is dedicated to Our Lady. It was finished by the 18th century. It houses a notable altarpiece in honour of St. Gregory, and an interesting 14th century gilded silver monstrance.
The old town walls, begun in the 16th century as a defence against attacks by the alliance of French and Turks, took forty years to build. They enclose an important historical legacy, declared by UNESCO a World heritage Site. The main entrance gateway is the Portal de Ses Taules.
An example of rationalist architecture open to the public Built by the architect and painter Erwin Broner in 1960. Cultural Interest Asset, Monument category. Donated by Gisela Broner to the Town Hall of Eivissa. Broner's work can be found in different enclaves of the city, especially in the marine neighborhoods and the port. This is his own house and is preserved just as he designed it. There are also occasional exhibitions of his artistic and architectural work, and that of other contemporary creators. Broner, of Jewish origin, was a student of Le Corbusier and played a leading role in the development of rationalist architecture on the island, along with other creators such as Josep Lluís Sert and Germán Rodríguez Arias. He got to know Ibiza in the 1930s, during his exile from Hitler's Germany. After several visits, in 1959 he settled permanently.
The Town Hall occupies part of an old Dominican Convent built between the 16th and 17th centuries and whose Convent Church still survives. Outstanding features are the cupolas that adorn the structure of this church, and its Cloister.
Located in the area of Sant Joan de Labritja, Balàfia is a rural settlement with dwellings and defence towers dating from the time of Moorish rule and where the atmosphere is still reminiscent of the Ibiza of that age.
This tour begins at the Puerta del Mar (Sea gate), which can be reached by a ramp that was built in 1870. Prior to that, there had been a zigzagging entrance that started from the Peixateria (fish-market) building in the La Marina neighbourhood. In 1641 a wooden drawbridge was built that led it to be called Portal de ses Taules. In the early 20th century this was replaced by a brick bridge. In the late 1980s an intervention was conducted that consisted of recovering the appearance that the gateway had with the drawbridge, and this is how it remains today. The date of 1585 which can be seen on the monumental gate (built in Palma) commemorates the official opening of the Puerta del Mar, not the walls themselves. The statues that flank the entrance were uncovered throughout the construction of the walls, and as they are Roman statues that were included as a classical reference, typical of the Renaissance style. Once past the entrance, you will reach the Patio de Armas (Weapons Courtyard), which has a built-in bench on the left hand side dating from the late 1980s. Beyond it is the Plaza de Vila.
The oldest name of this square is Plaza de la Ferreria (Blacksmith Square), and later it was know as the Plaza de la Fruita (Fruit Square) because of the market that used to be held here. According to Gaston Vuillier, a French writer who visited the island in the autumn of 1889, in this square, from 10 am to 11 am on Friday – the alms day – the poor folks of the town would assemble, hoping to receive donations. On the right hand side, going up a kind of inclined ramp you will reach the Sant Joan bulwark.
This is the first of the seven bulwarks along the wall. It is the largest of all, and is asymmetrical on its right side, which is larger than the left. From the platform it affords interesting views of the La Marina neighbourhood. The bulwark has an entrance door that was opened in the 1960s in order to let cars to enter Dalt Vila. Through this gateway you momentarily leave the Sant Joan bulwark and once again enter it from the Portal Nou gateway located in the Reina Sofía Park.
This small tunnel leads us through the Portal Nou in the new walled premises. Then is where the climb to the highest part of Dalt Vila begins along the Ronda Calvi – the name of the stretch of the wall between the Sant Pere and Sant Jaume bulwarks, and between the latter and Sant Bernat. The Ronda Calvi, which can be travelled by means of an Italian ramp (which makes the climb easier) has been subjected to several different excavations and refurbishments, which have given it a great deal of historical interest today. These endeavours have unearthed and left exposed stretches of the former mediaeval fortress that help us to understand the existence of different archaeological levels, and we can see one of the characteristic features of the old mediaeval quarters that Calvi refers to in his writings: the existence of wall-houses. The next bulwark is Sant Jordi, after which you can catch sweeping views of the tourism facilities between Ses Figueretes and playa d’en Bossa (beach). You must also see the views of the landscapes from the next bulwark, Sant Bernat.
At this point you will see the castle, the building that tops Puig de Vila hill. Before the Renaissance wall was built, it was separate from the Almudaina castle, but once the wall was built they were conjoined. In 1972, the Ministry of Defence donated the castle to the Town Hall, and since then excavations have been conducted that have provided proof of the different periods in Ibiza’s history, from its Phoenician founding until the Catalan period. They have also revealed several refurbishments and interventions that have been conducted. The most noteworthy aspects of the castle are the Torre del Homenaje (Homage Tower) and the Casa del Gobernador (Governor’s house). Following the wall, Universitat street leads you to the Plaza de la Catedral (Cathedral Square).
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