Calviá
Calvià is located in the western part of the island of Mallorca, next to Serra de Tramuntana, the main mountain in the Balearic Islands, and extends to Serra de Na Burguesa. It has an area of about 145 km². It is bounded by the municipality of Puigpunyent to the north, by Palma to the east, by Andratxt to the west and by the sea to the south.
Its geographic location in Mallorca has turned this municipality in one of the most attractive tourist areas on the Mallorcan coast. It has 26 beaches, each one with special characteristics.
The non-coastal areas are also very beautiful, since they have extraordinary mountain spots with pine forests, almond trees and all kind of autochthonous vegetation.
Its history begins two thousand years BC, although its first settlers date from the Neolithic Age. After that period, eastern seafarers arrived. They stopped over in Calvià on their way to the Iberian Peninsula and built small settlements along the coast. Historians call this period the “Cave Culture”, because caves were frequently used as habitations and burial areas. Some vestiges of this area have been catalogued in an archaeological site called Puig de sa Morisca Archaeological Park, which conserves remains of what was a talaiot 9 metres (30 ft) in diameter. It is located on a small mountainous elevation in the district of Santa Ponça, Calvià.
The name “Calvià” appears for the first time in a document that dates from the Muslim domination period. The origin of this toponym is subject to conjecture, although people believe that it comes from the Latin word calvianum, which derives from the word Caluus, meaning “burn” or “to be hot”, testament to Calvià’s arid land with no vegetation.
In 1229, James I and his troops landed in this municipality, especially in Santa Ponça, and carried out the conquest of Mallorca.
Its building land is geographically delimited, since it is located on a peninsula characterised by the presence of wet zones to the east and to the west.
This municipality has eighteen population centres, being the tourist resorts the most important ones. Its urban development is strongly influenced by the impact of tourism, which has turned this area in one of the main tourist destinations in Europe. It has 230 tourist establishments, including luxury hotels, country houses, yacht clubs, golf courses, tennis academies, hiking routes and an athletic track.