El Vinyet, Palma's forgotten summer retreat

PalmThere was a time when spending summers by the seaside was an eccentricity. No one would dream of snatching away from a shore that since ancient times had been a gateway to epidemics and corsair attacks. In Palma, in the mid-19th century, when the warm weather arrived, the wealthy classes began to seek shade under the pine groves outside the walls, in an area known as Vinyet.

On October 17 and 18, a series of conferences will be held at the CESAG building to raise awareness of the countless forgotten stories of this part of the city. Today, already delimited by the ring road, it is integrated into the Ponent district and, as its main bastions, features the Son Moix stadium and the exclusive Son Vida residential area. The conference coordinator, who already has around 100 registered participants, is researcher Josep Pomar. "The Vinyet toponym," he says, "dates back to when vines were primarily cultivated. In the 18th century, however, for unknown reasons, everything was cleared away to plant almond, carob, and some olive trees. This crop was distributed among small estates from the time of the Catalan conquest. Near the stretch that King James I followed in 1229 when he landed with his troops on the coast of Calvià."

In the 19th century, Vinyet began its first transformation. "It was," Pomar points out, "when the 'settlements' were born with workers arriving from the surrounding areas such as Puigpunyent, Andratx, and Estellencs. Some of these new settlements were Vileta, Son Serra, and Son Rapinya. The latter was initially called Son Llull. According to urban legend, the name change is due to the fact that it was a 'fruit tree' estate." Between the land owned by this working class and their long-held possessions, the bourgeoisie built their first second homes. "At that time, Palma was an unhealthy city, crowded with people crammed within the medieval and Renaissance walls. The houses had animals on the roofs, which encouraged the spread of all kinds of diseases. Added to this was the pollution from the numerous factories."

Faced with such a stifling situation, Vinyet presented itself as a good alternative. "Five kilometers from the center," the researcher affirms, "it was the best refuge to enjoy cleaner air during the three summer months, following the hygienic theories that prevailed in Europe." Generally speaking, the houses built by the bourgeoisie were of very simple architecture, spacious, with a yard and garden. Therefore, they had nothing to do with the majesty of the estates. "The lords used to visit them from time to time. They rarely stayed there. They left them in the hands of owners and messengers, with whom they shared the profits from the agricultural and livestock operations."

Speculators friendly to the king

In 1902, Palma ceased to be a cloistered city thanks to the demolition of its walls. This initiative responded to three reasons already being followed in other European cities: industrial development, hygienic needs, and disproportionate population growth. The wealthy classes, however, continued to frequent Vinyet in the summer, which, starting in 1921, saw improved connectivity with the addition of a tram line—it would disappear in 1958. At that time, however, the island's interior began to shift to the sea thanks to the influence of the Influence (1903). Thus, in Ciutat de Palma, the new summer resorts were coastal neighborhoods such as Molinar, Terreno, and Portopí.

Vinyet began to become popular during the boom Tourist. In 1956, one of its well-known properties, Son Vida, hosted the first luxury residential development in the Balearic Islands, with private security. By 1961, the resort would already have a hotel destined to become the new Mecca of Mediterranean glamour. In 1963, Prince Rainier of Monaco opened one of the archipelago's first golf courses. Its promoter was Fernando Truyols, who acquired the land from the Vida family. In 1970, not far away, speculation also reached Son Quint, the largest estate in the area, with 600 quadradas, attached to Son Rapinya. The right-hand man of the emeritus king on the island, the Georgian nobleman Zourab Tchokotua, and the businessman Juan Oliver Mateu, bought it from the Quint Saforteza family. They planned the Los Almendros development there, with houses that were meant to be affordable for the legion of peninsular residents who continued to arrive in Palma to work in construction and the hotel sector. Other similar developments would also follow in Son Roca, Son Ximelis, Son Pacs, Son Peretó, Son Flor, and Son Cigala.

Los Almendros was born amid controversy. The 39 blocks of 686 social housing units that were built immediately presented numerous deficiencies. A lawsuit was then filed in court, which was resolved 30 years later with significant compensation for those affected. In 1974, Tchokotua and Oliver added fuel to the fire. Contrary to their agreement with the City Council, they had the historic houses of Son Quint taken over. At the end of the Franco regime, that action sparked a resounding citizen protest, led by journalist Lluís Ripoll, which included the participation of artists, intellectuals, and residents through newspaper articles and exhibitions.

Bribed Neighbors

In 1982, tensions grew even more heated when the real plans of Son Quint's new owners, the Arabella group, were revealed. Former neighborhood leader Xisco Mengod, one of the architects of the "Son Quint, a protected area" campaign, explains: "From the Palma City Council, led by the socialist Ramon Aguiló, a councilor leaked to us that they wanted to build a replica of Son Vida, including a private hospital. Behind the project was the gatekeeper who spent his summers in Mallorca. With that information, the councilor was confident we would mobilize, just as we were already doing with Los Almendros." The operation had mafia overtones. "They tried to silence me with a bribe of 100,000 pesetas a month for life. If I had accepted it, I'd be dying of shame now. And the Son Rapinya Residents' Association offered us anything we wanted: commercial premises, sports fields... They also told us they were willing to cede the size of Bellver Forest to the city."

It was unscrupulous blackmail. "They reminded us," the activist asserts, "that if the development didn't go ahead, many jobs would be lost. We, however, stood firm until one day we no longer heard from them. We had the support of the GOB at all times." Then it was time to fight for the protection of the property with Palma City Council. The roadmap would be set by the Son Quint-Ponent Natural Park Association, which would finally see its demands met in July 2024: the PP City Council of Jaime Martínez bought three million square meters of Son Quint from the Arabella group, which includes part of the Sierra de na Burguesa mountains. The amount paid was 1.5 million euros. "In life," Mengod assures, "few things turn out so well. Our fight has been worth it."

What is already the largest public property in Palma not only has great environmental value but also heritage value, with mines, quarries, barracks, lime kilns, and caves that were attempted to be exploited for tourism at the beginning of the 20th century. The site has the status of ANEI (Natural Area of Special Interest) and AANP (Natural Area of Special Interest and High Level of Protection). Now the goal is to rehabilitate it as a metropolitan forest, with green corridors connected to the city and Bellver Castle.

Surviving gentrification

In 1973, in the midst of that construction boom, Vinyet began to be delimited by the ring road—the complete layout wasn't completed until 1990. From the 1960s until today, the area has steadily added educational centers: Monti-sion, Cide, Madre Albert. And since 1999, one of its emblematic buildings is the Mallorca stadium in Son Moix, which made the Lluís Sitjar stadium a thing of the past. The name also comes from its former owner.

Today, in the midst of gentrification and touristification on the island, it's hard to imagine the happy Arcadia that this district in the west of Palma represented for the wealthy classes from the 19th century onward. "Despite the urban speculation of recent years," concludes researcher Pep Pomar, "around fifty summer houses from that period are still preserved. As for the estates, apart from Son Quinto, others were demolished such as Son de Son Mosque, Son Pacs, Son Pacs, Son. However, Son Puigdorfila, Son Muntaner, Son Flor, Son Peretó, Son Cigala, Son Rossinyol and Son Vida remain standing."