|
|
PALMA - SPAIN
Palma (old Spanish name Palma de Mallorca) is
the major city and port in the island of Majorca (in Catalan: Mallorca) and
capital city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain.
It is situated on the south coast of the island on the Bay of Palma. As of
the 2003 census, the population of the city of Palma proper was 367,277, and
the population of the entire urban area was estimated to be 462,010, ranking
as the 12th-largest urban area of Spain. Almost half of the total population
of Majorca live in Palma.
Historically, the city and island have been regularly invaded. The city
prospered most greatly when it was the capital of the Kingdom of Majorca, a
part of the Aragonese Crown, in the 13th and 14th centuries. Many of the
most noted historic buildings in the city date from this period and show the
characteristic Gothic style, notably the cathedral (built from 1230 to 1600)
and the mixed Moorish-Spanish style of the Palau de l'Almudaina.
The archipelago
of Cabrera, though widely separated from Palma proper, is administratively
considered part of the municipality.
|
|
