Museum sights in Balearic Islands
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Ecomuseu Cap de Cavalleria
Ecomuseu Cap de Cavalleria is a small, private museum 1km north of Platja Cavalleria’s car park. Panels and videos illustrate the north coast, its fauna, the lighthouse, ancient inhabitants and Roman occupation. Borrow the booklet with full English translations of the captions. The museum’s Les 7 Rutes is a detailed multilingual map showing every feature of the peninsula.
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A
Museu Arqueològic
Contains an important collection of artefacts from the Phoenician and Carthaginian periods, plus a few pieces from Roman and Islamic times.
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Museu Etnològic
The Museu Etnològic is a modest ethnological museum illustrating Formentera’s agricultural and fishing heritage.
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B
Palau March
This house, palatial by any definition, was one of several residences of the phenomenally wealthy March family. Sculptures by 20th-century greats, such as Henry Moore, Auguste Rodin, Barbara Hepworth and Eduardo Chillida, grace the outdoor terrace. Within lie many more artistic treasures from some of Spain's big names in art.
Entry is through an outdoor terrace display of modern sculptural works. Centre stage is taken by the enormous Orgue del Mar (1973) by Barcelona’s Xavier Corberó.
Inside, more than 20 paintings by Salvador Dalí around the themes 'Alchemy and Eternity' catch the eye, as does the extraordinary 18th-century Neapolitan baroque belén (nativity scene). …
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C
Museu Fundación Juan March
This 17th-century mansion makes a good introduction to Spanish contemporary art. On permanent display are some 70 pieces held by the Fundación Juan March. Together they constitute a veritable who’s who of mostly 20th-century artists, including Picasso, Miró, Juan Gris (of cubism fame), Dalí and the sculptor Julio González.
After starting with the big names, the collection moves through various movements in Spanish art, such as that inspired in Barcelona by the Dau al Set review (1948–53) and led by Antoni Tàpies. Meanwhile, in Valencia, Eusebi Sempere and Andreu Alfaro were leading the way down abstract paths. Sempere’s Las Cuatro Estaciones (1980) reflects the…
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D
Museu Diocesà
Opened in 2007 in its magnificent new home of the Palau Episcopal (bishop’s residence), the Museu Diocesà, behind the cathedral to the east, is a fascinating excursion for those interested in Mallorca’s Christian artistic history.
The first thing you see upon entering is a mind-boggling retaule (retablo in Spanish, an altarpiece) depicting the Passion of Christ (c 1290–1305) and taken from the Convent de Santa Clara. The episodes are shown with effusive detail: Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, St Peter’s kiss of betrayal. Christ flailed looks utterly unperturbed, while the image of his being nailed to the cross is unsettling. Off to the right, a key work is Francesc Com…
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E
Museo de Muñecas
Near the cathedral, this fascinating niche shop-cum-museum is dedicated to old dolls, with more than 500 examples from over 50 countries, from Ashanti fertility dolls to Shirley Temple. At the top of the steep stairs, you buy a ticket and are ushered through the back to two rooms jammed with old dolls, made of anything from cardboard to porcelain.
In the first room, countless versions of a popular Spanish doll, Mariquita Pérez, which first appeared in 1938 in San Sebastián, steal the show. Many of the dolls in the second room date to the 19th or early 20th centuries and the aim is to show you how dolls have evolved down through the decades. Cardboard Spanish dolls from th…
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