Palau de l'Almudaina. Palma de Mallorca
Originally an Islamic fort, this mighty construction opposite the
Catedral was converted into a residence for the Mallorcan monarchs at
the end of the 13th century. The King of Spain resides here still, at
least symbolically. The royal family are rarely in residence, except for
the occasional ceremony, as they prefer to spend summer in the Palau
Marivent (in Cala Major). At other times you can wander through a series
of cavernous stone-walled rooms that have been lavishly decorated.
The
Romans are said to have built a castrum (fort) here, possibly on the
site of a prehistoric settlement. The Wālis (governors) of Muslim
Mallorca altered and expanded the Roman fort, while Jaume I and his
successors modified it to such an extent that little of the Muslim
version remains.
The first narrow room you enter has a
black-and-white ceiling, symbolising the extremes of night and day,
darkness and light. You then enter a series of three grand rooms. Notice
the bricked-in Gothic arches cut off in the middle. Originally these
three rooms were double their present height and formed one single great
hall added to the original Arab fort and known as the Saló del Tinell
(from an Italian word, tinello , meaning ‘place where one eats’): this
was once a giant banqueting and ceremonial hall. The rooms are graced by
period furniture, tapestries and other curios. The following six bare
rooms and terrace belonged to the original Arab citadel.
In the
main courtyard, or Patio de Armas , troops would line up for an
inspection and parade before heading out into the city. The lion
fountain in its centre is one of the palace’s rare Arab remnants. Up the
grand Royal Staircase are the royal apartments , a succession of
lavishly appointed rooms (look up to the beautiful coffered timber
artesonado ceilings), whose centrepiece is the Saló Gòtic, the upper
half of the former Saló del Tinell, where you can see where those Gothic
arches wind up. Next door to the apartments is the royal Capella de
Sant’Anna , a Gothic chapel whose entrance is a very rare Mallorcan
example of late Romanesque in rose and white marble.
After the death of Jaume III in 1349, no king lived here permanently again.
In the shadow of the Almudaina’s walls, along Avinguda d’Antoni Maura, is S’Hort del Rei (the King’s Garden).
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