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SANT ANTONI - SPAIN
Sant Antoni de Portmany (old Spanish name San
Antonio) is the second largest town in Ibiza, and is considered by British
clubbers to be the clubbing capital of the world. It is situated on Sant
Antoni Bay, on the west of Ibiza.
For two thousand years, Sant Antoni was a small fishing village, but it
began to grow in the late 1950s when many hotels and tourist resorts were
built as part of a mass tourism initiative which took place across Spain.
By the 1980s,
Sant Antoni had acquired the stigma of being the holiday location of choice
for British football hooligans, which lead to a decline in tourism in the
area. However, it regained its popularity in the mid 1990s when it gained a
reputation in Britain as having the best night clubs and DJs.
Young British clubbers make up the vast majority of visitors to the area,
mostly attracted by programmes such as the Ibiza Uncovered series on Sky
television.
The Egg
The Egg is the best known landmark in Sant Antoni, commonly used as a
meeting place by groups who have become separated.
The Egg is a statue erected in the early 1990s to commemorate the local
claim of having been the birth place of Christopher Columbus (there is a
similar claim that Hannibal was born in the region). The statue is in the
shape of an egg, containing at its centre a model of a 15th century ship.
The choice of an egg comes from a story about Columbus who, when ridiculed
over his claim that he could find a western route to the Indies, claimed
that he could make an egg stand upright, which he did by cracking the base
of the egg. See Egg of Columbus.
Passeig de ses Fonts
Part of Sant Antoni's harbourside promenade, Passeig de ses Fonts is an area
which was developed in the early 1990s to improve the appearance of the town.
It features many plants, including palm trees and rubber plants, as well as
fountains, which are illuminated by night. The opposite side of the street
is lined with pavement cafes.
West End
The West End is an area covering several blocks, filled almost entirely with
British bars, each of which has one or more agents outside, trying to entice
customers with offers of cheap drinks. Though several of the bars are disco
bars, most are geared towards street drinking.
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