Artá
The municipality of Artà is on the north of Mallorca. It has a surface area of 140 km² and a coastal area of 25 km. It is a mountainous region. Its highest peak is 562 metres high. It has extensive sand beaches that have not been urbanised. Artà is bounded by Capdepera, Son Servera,Sant Llorenç des Cardessar, Petra and Santa Margalida.
Artà’s coast is 25 km long. It still maintains its natural condition, since it has not been urbanised.
Some places that are important to highlight are: the beach and the dune formation of Sa Canova, the coastal plain of Sa Colònia de Sant Pere, the enormous cliffs in Ferrutx, where some of the most unique fauna and flora species on the island live (Paeonia cambessedesii, the fish eagle or the peregrine falcon), and finally, a series of little caves with sand beaches.
The Talaiotic settlement of Ses Païsses is 1 km from Artà. It is located on a hillside, in a Holm oak wood. It represents one of the most important vestiges of prehistoric times in Mallorca. 324 people are estimated to have lived there in the past and that its wall was built between 1000 and 800 BC.
In the old centre of Artà, in the high part of the village, there are big mansions that in the past used to be the houses that the owners of the big fincas had in the village. There, you can also find constructions built by those who emigrated to South America and made a fortune.
Sant Salvador is a fortified building containing a sanctuary that was already known in Muslim times. It is therefore a defensive construction prior to the Catalan conquest. It is located on a hill and is considered the most emblematic structure in Artà. Its wall is 1 metre thick and has 10 towers.
The sanctuary dates from the 13th century and has a sculpture of the Virgin seating next to baby Jesus. It is a Romanesque sculpture, probably from the 12th century, which was brought from Catalonia. The current temple was built in the 19th century, since the previous one had been destroyed. It had been used as a hospital during the plague that stroked the region in the summer of 1820.
Some people from Artà spend the summer in the coastal area of Sa Colònia de Sant Pere, a place that has moderately grown from what at the end of the 19th century was a repopulation colony. Today, it is a peaceful residential area located between the mountains and the sea and surrounded by vineyards and almond trees.
Information of Interest
- Talaiotic settlement of Ses Païsses
- Sant Salvador
- Colònia de Sant Pere
LINK OF ARTÀ
http://www.arta-web.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi