FORMENTOR

Formentor, in the township of Pollença, has one of the most iconic landscapes in northern Mallorca. It is a narrow peninsula that juts out around 12 km and has a motorway running along it that leads to the Formentor lighthouse.

As you go along the motorway, before reaching the beach there are two places where you can catch the best views: the La Creueta viewpoint, with the Colomer islet in the background, and the Talaia d'Albercuix, a defence tower located almost 400 metres over sea level from which you can catch magnificent panoramic views of the bay of Pollença and Formentor peninsula. This tower was part of the island’s defence system against Corsair attacks.

The human presence on Formentor dates back to prehistory, and there was a settlement here during the Roman times. Since the Middle Ages, one of the most extensive estates on Mallorca has been here, despite the difficulty of farming the lands and the frequent pirate incursions. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the praises of this area were poetically sung by the heir to the Formentor possessió (estate), Miquel Costa i Llobera.

In 1928, Adan Diehl, a member of a wealthy Argentine family, purchased the lands of Formentor and construction got underway on a luxurious residence that would later become the iconic Hotel Formentor. The guests in the early glory days of the hotel – interrupted by the Spanish Civil War – included famous writers and artists, as well as personalities like Winston Churchill, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Alba, among others. In the 1950s, the hotel once again become the backdrop of international activities, such as the first international congress devoted to Ramon Llull. In 1960, the Premio Formentor de Novela (Formentor Novel Prize) was set up, the best-endowed award of its day with a purse of 10,000 dollars and the international publication of the winning work. Today the Hotel Formentor remains a luxury hotel.