Alaior boasts some true architectural gems, and the Santa Eulalia church being the most outstanding one with its elevated setting that overlooks the entire town. However, there are several public buildings used for various purposes that are also well worth a visit, ranging from the renovated Pati de Sa Lluna to the Can Salort university campus.
Alaior’s Architecture
The charm of our historic buildings
Santa Eulàlia church
Holy protection at the top of the town
This church is built on a hill overlooking Alaior, with the town established around it from the 14th century onwards. It appears that another church was there before this, and its archivolts on the main façade and a side wall still remained in place. The parish was founded in at the beginning of the 14th century, while the current building was constructed between about 1630 and 1690. The church has some baroque elements but is essentially of renaissance style with a clear Mannerist influence. During the summer, there are guided visits of the tunnels used in the Civil War that are still conserved.
Sant Diego Convent and Pati de Sa Lluna
From a worship site to a heritage site in the town
The first cornerstone of this architectural ensemble dedicated to Sant Diego (Saint James) was in 1629, and it was made up of the church and cloister. This convent housed a group of Franciscan monks who settled in Alaior to support the needs of the growing Christian community in the town. They continued this work until 1835, when the confiscation of the convent resulted in the cloister becoming an army barracks and, later, private dwellings. In 1993, what is popularly known as the Pati de sa Lluna was declared to be a Property of Cultural Interest. This initial acknowledgement and the subsequent purchase of the property by the Public Administration marked the start of its restructuring as a cultural and social space.
Capella de Gràcia (Chaplaincy)
History at your fingertips
The capella de Gràcia chaplaincy is within a small church of the same name in Coll del Palmer street. Built in the 16th century, it had to be completely renovated in 1734 due to its poor condition. It was used as a nursing station during the Civil War and is now an exhibition hall. This chaplaincy is one of Alaior’s architectural gems, combining artworks with its stunning exterior and interior.
Council House
From private residences to becoming everyone’s
Alaior's Council House has an impressive history behind, with the first belonging to the Trémol family, who went on to sell the property to the Universidad Particular University of Alaior in 1660.
The building had to gradually renovated to adapt it to its new use, which is duly recorded in the archives of the first plenary session held in 1672. It has maintained what is considered to be its original base structure over the centuries and is distributed around a central patio. In the year 1911, the ground floor was completely renovated again to build a home for the sergeant-at-arms. A central staircase was built at the same time, ruling over the building and the distribution hall on the ground floor.
The main façade was renovated in 1944, which until that time had only been partly clad and whitewashed. The last major renovation was carried out between 1980 and 1990, when the central patio was covered with a skylight roof that fills the building with light. It also has an exhibition hall.
Sant Llorenç de Binixems Hermitage
The origin of our summer fiestas
The Sant Llorenç de Binixems Hermitage is a small parish founded in the year 1301 by Jaume II, the King of Mallorca. It was formerly used to celebrate the town fiestas of Sant Llorenç, although the patron saint of Alaior is Santa Eulàlia. When it was decided to relocate the festivities to Alaior itself, the building was abandoned. Nowadays, having been recovered and rebuilt in 1898, it is used as a summer camp or hostel for schoolchildren and other groups.
Sant Pere Nou Hermitage
Devotion that appropriated land from nature
This lovely hermitage is on the outskirts of Alaior but now forms part of our urban fabric. However, it was originally a hermitage outside the town and was built between 1723 and 1731. It is called Sant Pere Nou (meaning new) because this building substituted another older one located by Sant Pere pond (the current street is now called calle de Ses Quatre Boques on the town’s industrial estate).
Can Salort
A site of knowledge
The Salort palace, known as Can Salort, is located in the street Major right in the historic centre of Alaior. The Salort family lived in the property from the 17th century, and the building was then bought by the Town Hall in 1995 to be adapted for public use. The Municipal Public Library has occupied the ground floor and mezzanine level since then. General renovation work was carried out from 1996 to 1998, recovering iconic spaces and consolidating a rational distribution of the space so that it could be multi-functional and easy to move around in. The renovated building was officially opened in October of 1998 as the headquarters of the university extension of the Balearic Islands University (UIB).