Museums

Cap de Barbaria I, II i III (jaciments prehistòrics)

The Cap de Barbaria is a geographic area that ended up being densely populated during the early and middle Bronze Age (approximately 1600-1000 BC). As an example of this, we have the 20 or so sites from this period, three of which have been excavated. Cap de Barbaria II is the largest, a structure with a complex shape formed by different areas joined together, making various curved shapes: circles, semi-circles, horseshoes and ellipses. It seems that the compartmentation of this kind of construction was due to the space's use: areas for living, working and keeping animals. Cap de Barbaria I and III are simpler constructions.

How to get there:
Cap de Barbaria I (map)
Cap de Barbaria II (map)
Cap de Barbaria III (map)

Far de la Mola

“Far de la Mola” Cultural and Educational Space

Designed by engineer Emili Pou Bonet in 1859 and built in 1860, La Mola's lighthouse came into operation on 30 November 1861. The building has a square base of 20.20 m on each side, and consisted previously of two dwellings, as well as the rooms required for the lighthouse keepers' work and a fence to mark the bounds of the public property.

The lighthouse, or far in Catalan, was equipped with a second-order fixed catadioptric apparatus (i.e., reflecting light and refracting it) that produced a signal stretching 18 miles and providing 270° of visibility from the sea. In 1928 a rotating optic with 12 catadioptric panels was installed which remains in service. In 1971 the lighthouse was connected to the grid and electrified to illuminate a 3,000-watt lamp. It has two backup generators.

The lighthouse lantern is located 11 metres from the coastline and perched 21 metres above ground and 158 metres above sea level. Every 4.67 seconds the steady beam of white light produced is punctuated by a 0.33-second flash –– the former can be seen 16 nautical miles away and the latter, 23 nautical miles away (1 nautical mile: 1,852 metres).

In 2019, thanks to a collaboration agreement between Balearic Port Authority and the Consell Insular de Formentera, part of the lighthouse facilities were converted into the "Far de la Mola” Cultural and Educational Space, which contains a permanent exhibition on lighthouses, the sea and sailing and a multi-purpose room for cultural activities.

https://www.formentera.es/ca/explorar/cultura-i-patrimoni/sala-dexposicions-i-museus/

To learn more:

Javier Pérez Arévalo, El far de Formentera (la Mola), (Editorial Mediterrània-Eivissa, 2001).

Pere Vilàs, Senyals lluminosos de les Pitiüses (Consell Insular d'Eivissa i Formentera, 1992).

Com arribar-hi:
Far de la Mola (mapa)

Ca na Costa (megalithic tomb)

A burial site with a central circular chamber bordered with large vertical stone slabs, surrounded by three paved concentric circles and 22 radial stones, plus a corridor that leads to the middle of the construction. Discovered in 1974, the subsequent excavation revealed the remains of 8 individuals, 15 triangular and pyramidal bone buttons, fragments of flint and some examples of incised ceramics, which can now all be found in the Archaeological Museum of Eivissa and Formentera, in the main branch in Eivissa. The carbon-14 datings for the materials place the site around 2000 BC, which makes it the oldest megalithic site in the Balearic Islands. It was used for a long time, some 400 years, until approximately 1600 BC. It was declared a site of cultural interest in the archaeological site category in 1994.

How to get there:
Ca na Costa (map)

Can Blai (castellum romà)

The remains of a fortified construction from the late Roman era. The estimated date for the site is between the end of the 3rd century and the start of the 4th century AD. It is special due to its square shape with a tower at each corner. It can be compared to other similar constructions located in bordering areas of the empire, such as Romania, Bulgaria, Syria, Palestine and Tunisia. The results of excavations in 1979 and 1980 suggest that it was unfinished and possibly privately owned, built to protect the surrounding population. It was declared a site of cultural interest in the archaeological site category in 1994.

How to get there:
Can Blai (map)

Fossar Vell de Sant Francesc Xavier

The apparition of this XVIII-century cemetery followed construction of the Sant Francesc Xavier church, consecrated in 1738. Although the exact date of the cemetery's construction remains unknown, historical documentation indicates the structure was already in place in 1757. The presence of death records indicates use of the site could date back to 1744. It was the only such place on the island until 1784-1788, when another cemetery was conceived for La Mola. More than a century later, in 1903, a third was established in the town of Sant Ferran de ses Roques. El fossar Vell (literally, 'the old burial ground') de Sant Francesc was used until September 1940, after which point Formentera's departed were buried in the new cemetery, the construction of this having begun two years prior.

The original structure was rectangular and measured eighteen by fifteen metres. On the side nearest the church, a door and frontispiece stood at the centre. The northwest corner coincided with the western edge of the half square league that King Carlos II ceded to Marc Ferrer in 1695. In 1839, the cemetery was expanded at its western and southern walls, essentially giving the site its current shape: an almost-square 22 x 22 metres. The cemetery's five chapels were constructed between the close of the nineteenth and turn of the twentieth century.

How to get there:
Carrer de Sant Joan. Sant Francesc (map)

Free admission

M. Castelló's photos