A double rose window will illuminate the Cathedral during the Festival of Light this Wednesday

PalmaThe Cathedral of Mallorca will open its doors this Wednesday, November 11th at 7:30 a.m. so that residents and visitors can contemplate the traditional "Vuit de la Seu" (Eight of the See), a light phenomenon that occurs only twice a year and that turns the interior of the Cathedral into a stage of light and color.

Coinciding with the feast of Saint Martin, the first rays of the sun will pass through the main rose window of the Cathedral, 11.38 meters in diameter, and will project its image onto the opposite interior façade, in the area of the main portal. The result is a spectacular double rose window: one formed by the original stained glass and the other drawn by the sunlight. This optical effect, considered a unique phenomenon in Europe, can only be observed on two specific dates: November 11th and February 2nd, Candlemas Day. Every year it attracts numerous curious onlookers and visitors who go to the Cathedral to witness this coincidence between the building's orientation and the position of the sun.

The projection is possible thanks to the architectural characteristics of the cathedral, built from the 13th century onwards on the remains of an ancient mosque. Its orientation, 120 degrees towards the southeast, the location of the rose window, and the progressive installation of stained glass in all available windows and oculi allow the light to draw this image inside the temple. The restoration of the rose window, carried out in 2010, also contributes to preserving this spectacle of colors and shadows that, twice a year, turns the cathedral into a meeting point to contemplate one of its most characteristic phenomena.