Puerto Mayor de Alcudia, the power of the sea in Mallorca

AlcudiaAlcudia, Pollentia 'the powerful' by the Romans, Al-Kudi or the city of the hill by the Muslims, the 'Most Faithful City' that resisted Germania in defense of Emperor Charles. But, above all, a town equidistant from the two natural exits to the sea: the Puerto Mayor (Pollença). Precisely the latter was the one used by Charles V when he visited the town on June 4, 1535, to thank it for its support during the Germania revolt (1521-1523). Probably at the Tamarells port, at the end of the port, because it offered better shelter and draught. Since Roman times, we know that there was a port in the part of the bay of Alcudia. Mimi P. in the Bay of Alcudia on November 19, 1883, marked a milestone in the history of the port and tested the courage and character of Alcudia's sailors.

The following route is an initiative of the ARA Baleares newspaper with the support of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands and the Fita a Fita guide—cultural and family hiking—to bring the secret heritage of our ports (Palma, Alcudia, Mahon, Ibiza, and La Savina) closer to our subscribers and readers. We do not provide detailed times, only the length of the route, the gradient, and the maximum height. Ultimately, it is a walk—which we can take alone or with others—through streets, squares, and seafront promenades full of stories, legends, and an immense architectural and cultural heritage. It requires time and calm to explore it unhurriedly and with all five senses. You can reach the port of Alcudia by bus, stopping on lines 302, 315, 322, 324, 325, and A32 (tib.org).

The route

[00 min] We begin the walk at Muelle Vell, a stretch of sea sheltered by the most modern marina. We stand on the promenade, where Teodor Canet and Gabriel Roca streets meet, at the foot of the Fishermen's Monument, a 1995 sculpture by Manuel Vera that we find to the right of the buildings of the Maritime Captaincy and the Fishermen's Guild. This work is intended to pay tribute to "the children of this land / that the sea, so aged, / demands so much war, / from some even life." From this point, we can look at the end of the walkway that rises from the promenade above the fishermen's wharf and enjoy a beautiful panoramic view.

We leave this overlook and head back toward the seafront promenade. In front of us are a series of modern buildings, located between Virgen del Carmen and Sant Pere streets, built on two blocks that, in the distant past, formed the first population center of the main port of Alcudia. Not surprisingly, they are located at the end of a long road, of medieval origin, that connects Alcudia with its port. Until a few years ago, the old Fishermen's Guild building (el Pósito), from the late 18th century, could still be seen.

We head east along the seafront promenade toward the modern port facilities of the Estacion Maritima. We stop at Plaça de la Quarantena, from where we can see the current finish of this part of the port of Alcudia, which dates back to the first decade of the 21st century. However, during the first third of the 20th century, important changes took place, although the most significant would not arrive until the late 1950s, with the opening of the Alcudia thermal power plant and the construction of a dock for unloading coal.

We leave Calle del Muelle Comercial on the right, cross the Plaza de la Quarantena, and continue our walk along the continuation of Calle Gabriel Roca. This is a dead-end road that runs between a large green area near the sea and a string of relatively new houses. Suddenly, a stone fence appears with sandstone voussoired doorways, filled in with bricks, which piques our curiosity. Based on the historical descriptions of the surrounding area, there is no doubt that this is the lazaretto of the port of Alcudia.

Lazarettos were facilities designed to control and inspect people and goods coming from areas affected by epidemics or endemic diseases. The first lazaretto was built in Venice in 1423. In the case of Alcudia, we know that there were two: the first was built in 1659 as a result of the plague of 1652; the second arrived in 1785, to replace the previous one and resolve a major health crisis, the Marseille plague of 1720, which, along with other circumstantial circumstances of the time, forced the port of Alcudia to close for 35 years. "Alcudia, the most unhappy and miserable of the entire island, given that there are only deserted houses abandoned by their owners..." (Trip to the Villas of Mallorca. Jerónimo de Berard, 1789). The situation was resolved with a long and complex repopulation process at the end of the 18th century.

The Torre Mayor of Alcúdia

The land surrounding the lazaretto was sold in 1944, and the Alcúdia thermal power plant was built in its place, inaugurated in 1960. From Gabriel Roca Street, we emerge onto the Alcanada road, between the old Gesa plant, replaced in 1980 by the Murterar power plant, and the Murterar power plant, an industrial settlement of 30 homes. A few meters further on, we turn right onto Cranc Street, following the fence that separates us from the old power plant. We soon discover the Alcúdia Main Tower, built in the early 17th century to monitor and defend the port. A path leads down from the tower to the sea and brings us in front of another important landmark, a truss tower. It was part of a signaling system for naval maneuvers during the period between 1941 and 1970, when the Bay of Alcudia was a PUAS (Polygon for the Utilization of Submarine Weapons), linked to the Sóller naval base.

From here we go down to a dirt road that, on the right, connects with the old thermal power plant, and on the left, will take us to Cala en Poncet, the origin of the Alcanada development. Around the cove, the first houses designed in 1933 by the Mahón architect and landscaper Nicolau Rubió i Tudurí, nephew of the Reus architect Joan Rubió i Bellver, are still visible. An initiative that paralyzed the Civil War and overshadowed the boom tourist.

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