The Formentera Office of Heritage wishes to remind islanders about the hours of operation at local heritage sites from June to September, both inclusive. The Old La Mola Windmill [Molí Vell de la Mola] is open 5.00pm to 8.00pm, Wednesday to Sunday, and Es Pi des Català Defence Tower opens 9.00am to 11.00am on Fridays. Meanwhile, the Ethnographic Collection keeps the same hours year round: 10.00am to 1.30pm, Tuesday to Saturday. Admission is free and the sites close on bank holidays. For more information, please contact coneixpatrimoni@conselldeformentera.cat.

6 June 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

The Formentera Office of Heritage is pleased to announce aid for work on cultural heritage sites and work to rehabilitate dry stone walls and bury overhead utility cables on the island. This year €250,000 has been set aside and the deadline to apply for the aid is 29 July. The terms of the offer have been posted to the BOIB and can also be found at www.conselldeformentera.cat.

Raquel Guasch, Councillor of Heritage, framed the 2022 call for applications as "the continuation and consolidation of a now three-year initiative and a clear statement to islanders about the importance of stewarding our heritage". She cast the money as "a chance to cement our heritage as a hallmark of our identity".

Of 25 grants and €192,278.40 in funding that was awarded last year, 17 went to wall rehabilitations (€125,911); 6 went to on-site interventions (€50,267.40) and 2 went to undergrounding power lines (€16,100).

This year funding for dry stone walls has been increased from 45% to 50%. The €250,000 budget will be split as follows: 35% for work on cultural heritage sites, 50% to rehabilitate dry stone walls and 15% to bury electrical and telephone lines.

Surplus aid may be applied in excess of those percentage allocations, with preference for dry stone wall rehabilitations, cultural heritage site work and utility line burials, in descending order of priority.

Submissions to the 2022 call can involve restoring, conserving, consolidating and rehabilitating assets of cultural heritage like cultural interest sites (BIC) and catalogued sites (BC), as well as assets included in Formentera's Cultural Heritage Catalogue and Inventory, provided that associated work improves and enhances the site in question.

Eligible dry stone wall projects will involve repairs performed using traditional materials and techniques, or swapping out concrete block walls or other unsuitable materials for traditionally fitted dry stone walls.

Finally, utility line burials eligible for subsidies will involve either power lines (medium voltage, transformer stations, low voltage distribution networks and individual connections) or telephone lines.

Applications for these grants can be sent to the Citizen's Information Office [Oficina d'Atenció a la Ciutadania,  Carrer Ramon Llull, 6] or to the Virtual Citizen's Information Office (OVAC), which can be accessed from the Consell de Formentera website.

6 May 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

The Formentera Office of Heritage reminds islanders of the opening hours of local heritage sites during the month of April. Molí Vell de la Mola [Old La Mola Windmill] opens 10.00am to 1.00pm from Tuesday to Saturday and the Formentera Ethnographic Collection opens between 10.00am and 1.30pm on the same days. Visits of Es Pi des Català Defence Tower, meanwhile, must be arranged by emailing coneixpatrimoni@conselldeformentera.cat.

Admission is free and the sites are closed on bank holidays.

11 April 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

Today Ana Juan, President of the Consell de Formentera, and Raquel Guasch, Councillor of Heritage, presented the new Molí Vell de la Mola information point, located in an old warehouse next to the protected landmark.

As part of a project which was overseen by the Formentera Office of Heritage, the information point at the "Old La Mola windmill" features a permanent exhibition consisting of four panels highlighting the process of turning grain into bread and its importance in the human diet. There is also a hand-operated millstone of recent fabrication together with assorted samples of grain.

President Juan said the new space represented "one step further in our policy of safeguarding and showcasing heritage assets, and the Formentera Office of Heritage is at the forefront". The last two years have brought approval of protected landmark status for the windmill and surrounding area, restoration of the mill and its sweeps and extended public hours. "Now we are taking another step in the enhancement of a windmill that is part of our history".

For her part, Councillor Guasch pointed out that the lease signed in 2020 between local government and the landmark's owners, the Illes Balears Foundation, "enables us to oversee opening hours and visits as well as to open new spaces like this information point". Guasch asserted that the new space would "move us closer to our goal of opening Formentera's heritage to islanders and tourists alike so they can learn more about it in an up-close and familiar way".

The permanent exhibition offers detailed insight about milling and the various devices which have traditionally served this purpose, dedicating special attention to flour windmills and the names of component parts. The hand-operated millstone can be operated by school children visiting the Moli Vell de la Mola under the supervision of accompanying adults. This piece serves as a counterpoint to the old windmill, which harnessed the wind to yield more with less effort.

This information point has been put in place with in-house funding and has involved an investment of roughly €1,500. A space has been set up for visitors to use. Opening hours during the month of April will be from Tuesday to Saturday from 10.00am to 1.00pm. Admission is free.

1 April 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera