Menorca, the island of the wise

PalmMenorca's reputation as the island of scholars is nothing new. As early as the late 18th century, when the new ideas of the Enlightenment were barely taking root in the rest of Spain, the people of Menorca experienced a true golden age of culture; and moreover, in Catalan, circumventing Bourbon uniformity, thanks to British rule. On November 11, 1985, forty years ago, this entire tradition took the form of the Menorcan Institute of Studies (IME).

The IME is the continuation of a tradition that dates back, at least, to the Maonese Society of Culture, which existed from 1778 to 1785 and whose members included exceptional figures such as Joan Ramis i Ramis, the author of the first book on archaeology published in Spain. Unlike the rest of the Catalan-speaking territories, Menorca, under British rule, was spared the Inquisition—an obstacle to research and science—and its own language was maintained as a vehicle for culture. Until its reincorporation into Spain, of course.

Perhaps because of this 'European connection' – especially with Great Britain, and also with France, in the 18th century – Menorca has stood out for its cultural and scientific profile compared to the other islands. It has also distinguished itself through the preservation of its language and landscape. The late publisher Lluís Ripoll, a popularizer of the archipelago's traditions, recounted that his books were better received in Menorca than in Mallorca or the Pitiusas Islands. Josep Pla called it "the studied island," because he knew of no other similar territory with so many published studies. Eighty years before the IME (Institute of Menorcan Studies) was established, in 1905, what remains an essential reference point for Menorcan culture was founded: the Scientific, Literary, and Artistic Athenaeum of Mahón, an organization that generates activities of all kinds in fields as diverse as politics, science, and archaeology, and publishes the Menorca MagazineIt also played a fundamental role in the final years of the Franco regime, under the presidency of Guillermo de Olivas, who later became a senator, as a forum for pluralism—all that was viable at that time.

A boom in Menorcan university students

However, Ciutadella could not be outdone by Mahón – the rivalry between the two cities is legendary – and in 1953 the Studies Section of its Artistic Circle was established, becoming the third most prominent center of Menorcan culture in the 20th century, alongside the Ateneo itself and the IME (Institute of Menorcan Studies). Headed by the scholar and priest Josep Salord, the archaeologist Gabriel Martí Bella, and the cartographer Josep Mascaró Pasarius, this Section undertook initiatives in the fields of language, literature and folklore, history and archaeology, natural sciences, art, and urban studies. Probably no other entity in Mallorca has possessed the consistency, social presence, and, above all, continuity of the Ateneo of Mahón and the Artistic Circle of Ciutadella. In 1971, the Francoist Provincial Council created the Balearic Institute of Studies (IEB), covering the entire archipelago, modeled after other centers of territorial studies throughout the rest of Spain. However, since 2004, this entity has been reoriented primarily towards cultural exchange between the islands—each with its own responsibilities in this area—and their international outreach. The Institute of Ibizan Studies (IEE)—although its scope encompasses all the Pitiusas Islands—is an entity created in 1949 and reconstituted in 1969 as an association, with a similarly intense and diversified activity.

The end of the Franco regime, the beginning of democracy, and the restoration of self-government in Menorca coincided with a period of genuine cultural effervescence. Several factors converged, including the island's aforementioned Enlightenment tradition, but also a true boomThe largest number of university graduates ever produced from Menorca. Of course, they were trained abroad, but they have the desire to return and pursue research.

The implementation ofEncyclopedia of MenorcaThe publication, organized not alphabetically but thematically, and directed by physicist Josep Miquel Vidal, who would become the IME's first scientific coordinator, highlighted the shortcomings in research. Josefina Salord, then a young philologist writing the literature booklets—she would succeed Vidal as IME's scientific coordinator in 2013—told the publication's editor: "This is over." It was impossible to undertake a history of Menorcan literature "without publications, without studies, without anything sufficiently substantial." So it had to be done. That research would be one of the priorities of the Menorcans—along with the language—was already clear when, upon the establishment of the Consell de Menorca in 1979, a specific Department of Linguistic Normalization and Research—separate from the Department of Culture and Education—was created, headed by Joan Francesc López Casasnovas. It was he himself who, in the following legislature, took the necessary steps to establish the new Menorcan Institute of Studies.

The IME is not quite an official institution, like the IEB, nor an association, like the IEE. Certainly, it depends on the Consell de Menorca, but it is made up of members from the different specialized sections and operates autonomously. In Vidal's definition, it is "a hybrid between an NGO and an administrative body."

The 'who's who' of Menorcan culture

Another peculiarity, as he has written in the magazine Hinge Its current scientific coordinator, Marta Jordi, a physicist and historian, is the very name of the institution: note that it's not called the 'Institute of Menorcan Studies,' but the 'Menorcan Institute of Studies,' "which demonstrates the IME's intention not to remain exclusively within the local sphere, but to incorporate a global perspective."

It was on November 11, 1985 – this week marks its fortieth anniversary – that the plenary session of the Consell de Menorca approved the statutes of the new entity. Throughout 1986, its 67 founding members were appointed, among them the linguist and editor Francesc de Borja Moll, the historian Andreu Murillo, the anthropologist Jaume Mascaró, Josep Miquel Vidal, and Josefina Salord. And the five sections into which this entity is structured were established: science and technology, natural sciences, social sciences, history and archaeology, and language and literature.

The IME has a governing board, whose president is the head of Culture for the island institution. It also has a scientific council, whose president is elected by the members of the organization, and representatives from the different sections. Currently, this responsibility is held by the jurist and writer Josep Maria Quintana. The scientific coordinator is also a member of this council.

Truly, the IME is the 'who's who' of Menorcan culture: a glance at the lists of members of its sections is impressive. Just to mention a few of the best-known names: the former rector of the University of the Balearic Islands, Llorenç Huguet; the physicist Alícia Sintes, known for her work on gravitational waves; the archaeologists Irene Riudavets and Margarita Orfila; the economist Guillem López Casasnovas; and the historian Miquel Àngel Casasnovas. The geographer Maria Lluïsa Dubon; and the writers Maite Salord, Pau Faner, Pere Gomila, Ponç Pons, Ismael Pelegrí, and Miquel Àngel Limón, among others.

The first budget of the Menorcan Institute of Studies amounted to four million pesetas: just over 24,000 euros, which would now be a reasonable annual salary. The budget for 2025 is considerably higher: 1,817,000 euros. With these resources, the IME develops an intensive program each year that includes the publication of books and journals; conferences and sessions, including the School of Public Health and the International University of Menorca Isla del Rey; scholarships and awards; and a whole host of initiatives, both independently and in collaboration with other entities in Menorca, the rest of the Balearic Islands, and abroad.

An old manor house on the road to Maó Castle, Can Victori, very close to the central Plaça del Príncep, and formerly the headquarters of the Consell de Menorca, has housed the Menorcan Institute of Studies (IME) on its first floor since 2002. Other aspects of the IME are not so readily apparent. Such as the archive, which holds treasures like the second largest collection of correspondence in Spain between 19th-century naturalists, that of the botanist Joan Joaquim Rodríguez. These are the secrets of the learned.

Information prepared from texts by Josefina Salord, Josep Miquel Vidal, Marta Jordi and Miquel Àngel Casasnovas and the book by Isabel Graña Josefina Salord Ripoll. The desire for shared knowledge (Leonario Muntaner Editor).