Museums

Torre des Pi des Català

One of Formentera's four defence towers, the one located in the es Pi des Català area of the island was, like its three counterparts, erected between 1762 and 1763 in strategic locations which where determined by Francisco de Paula Bucarelli y Ursúa, the then general captain of the Balearic Islands. The project was carried out under the guidance of military engineer José García Martínez. The constructions were used both for defence and –as was most often the case– surveillance until 1867.

Bearing the form of a truncated cone, the tower was built upon a circular foundation and is divided into three floors. A gunpowder arsenal is located on the ground level, as is a section of ample floor space which was previously occupied by a stone staircase that united the ground floor with the central chamber of the tower. An aperture in the chamber wall was converted into what is today the main tower entrance, a feature that has permitted the tower's opening for public visit. The first floor is also the site of the original entrance, situated above ground level for questions of defence and protected by a machicolation and by a vertical conduit. Initially, the two elements had the additional safeguard of a watchtower, of which little more than a trace remains today upon the floor. Access to the upper platform is gained by a spiral staircase.

How to get there:
Venda des Pi des Català (map)

From November to May, visits must be arranged to appointment by email: coneixpatrimoni@conselldeformentera.cat

Free admission

M. Castelló's photos

Formentera Museum of Ethnography

The second half of the XX century brought pervasive and rapid change to Formentera, transformation that in turn had environmental, societal and cultural repercussions. With ways of life steeped heavily in tradition and a more or less self-sufficient economy as its points of departure, Formentera evolved toward a model based almost exclusively on tourism and the service sector. This effected a rejection of many once important traditions, the people of Formentera becoming actors in an ever more globalised world.

For this very reason, one of the goals of the Formentera Museum of Ethnography is to provide visitors an approximation of the lifestyles more typical to the island's not-too-distant past. An array of tools, utensils, furniture and dress comprise the museum's permanent collection, an acutely representative display of daily life in this Formentera of years past.

The museum is organised into different sections and has a scope conceived to be all-encompassing. Included is everything from land-tilling equipment and tools of the fishing trade to representations of the different areas of a traditional country home. A close look is given artefacts from more specialised crafts like carpentry and ironworking, elaborate processes like breadmaking, vinification and shoemaking, and the not altogether far-off spectre of limestone-extraction.

How to get there:
Formentera Museum of Ethnography
Carrer Santa Maria, 16, 1r pis · 07860 Sant Francesc. Formentera · tel. 971 32 26 70. (map)

Free admission

Page 3 of 3

Start

End