Santanyi
This municipality is located on the southeast of Mallorca. It is bounded Ses Salines, Campos, Felanitx, and by the sea to the east. It has an area of 126.39 km² and a population of 12000 inhabitants. Its coast is about 35 km long. There, you can find some of the best virgin beaches in Mallorca and the Mondragó Natural Park.
The village of Santanyí, as the population centres of Calonge, S’Alquería Blanca and Es Llombards, are located inland. The coastal area includes Cala Esmeralda, Cala d’Or, Marina de Cala d’Or, Portopetro, Cap des Moro, Cala Figuera, Cala Santanyí, Cala Llombards and Cala de s’Almunia.
172 archaeological sites prove the presence of human beings in prehistoric times. Some of the most famous Talaiotic settlements are Son Danús Nou, Son Danús de Dalt, Es Llombards, Es Rafal des Porcs, Sa Talaia Grossa and Ses Talaies de can Jordi.
The discovery of Minerva statues in Cas Traiger proves the practice of the religion during the Roman domination.
During the Arab period, this area was known as Adia.
The village of Santanyí was founded in 1300 by King James II of Mallorca. It was built on top of a previous population centre. Afterwards, these lands where granted to Nuno Sans.
In the 16th century, this area suffered many attacks from North African corsairs. They built a wall to protect themselves. You can still see one of the doors that belonged to this wall, known as the “Porta Murada” (literally “Wall Door”).
This municipality’s economy is based on the tourist industry. The main tourist resorts are Cala d’Or, Portopetro and Cala Santanyí. It also has an important stone industry, from which it is important to highlight the Stone of Santanyí.
CALA D’OR: Cala d’Or is the perfect holiday spot for families with children that want to relax in Mallorca, with a wide variety of accommodation possibilities, including tourist apartments, hotels and holiday homes. Cala d’Or’s yacht club is located in Cala Llonga and is known as Cala d’Or Marina. It is one of the best equipped clubs in Mallorca.
Cala d’Or is a pioneering area in terms of tourism. It was originally developed by the Ibizan architect Josep Costa Ferrer, “Picarol” (1933), who was inspired by the traditional Ibizan architecture based on white houses covered by terraces. Even the church and the name of the streets were inspired by Ibiza.
PORTO PETRO is located within the tourist centre of Cala d’Or. It consists of holiday homes, hotels and tourist apartments. There is also a commercial port from the 15th century, which was used for the exportation of the Stone of Satanyí and the importation of wheat. In the past, there was also a customs station to control the maritime trade. However, at the end of the 19th century, it lost its commercial function and was reduced to a fishing port. Today, in this picturesque port, you can find Portopetro’s Royal Yacht Club, where most craft are pleasure boats are. From there you can go on an excursion along the coast or head for the Cabrera Natural Park. The development of this area started at the beginning of the 19th century, although the tourist transformation of this population centre started in 1959 with the construction of Nereida Hotel and the construction of Club Mediterraneé two years later.
Information of Interest
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Parish church of Sant Andreu, (13th century).
- The popular Sanctuary of Nostra Senyora de Consolació (15th century), located in the vicinity of S’Alqueria Blanca.
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Gothic church of Roser
- MondragóNatural Park
- Cala d’Or, Portopetro, Cala Figuer
LINK OF SANTANYÍ TOWN COUNCIL
http://www.ajsantanyi.net/