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The present position of the city of Palma is believed to have been originally occupied by a talayotic settlement closely associated with the sea. Later invaded by the Romans and then by the Arabs who named it Madina Mayurqa, the city conserves evidence of those periods in monuments such as the Almudaina Palace and the Arab baths.
In 1229 Palma was conquered by King Jaime I, who founded a municipality that encompassed the whole island, hence its name Ciutat de Majorca. As a result of the singular layout of the city, intersected by a river, there were two urban centres "Vila de Dalt" and "Vila d'Avall" situated on either side of the river's banks. Because of its privileged geographic position, Palma was able to have important dealings with traders from the Maghreb, Italian domains and the Turkish Empire and they helped to make this a golden era for the city. In La Lonja there was a busy commodity exchange market supervised by the Consolat de Mar to ensure that all commercial transactions complied with the laws in force at the time. Locality: Playa De Palma is on the South coast of the island, at the East end of the wide, deeply curved Bay of Palma. (7 mls SE of the centre of the city of Palma, 2½ mls from its international airport). Playa de Palma extends about 2½ mls along the sea front, nearly merging with Ca'n Pastilla in the north west, and in the south east culminating in Arenal, the older, hilly part of town around the harbour. |
