PORTOCOLOM

This town between Cala Ferrera, s'Horta and Cala Murada is one of the most important natural harbours in the south of Mallorca. Its urban area covers 78.4 ha. According to P. Xamena's research, during the Moorish domination the Catalan merchants already called the village Portocolom. The name probably dates back to the Roman period and is due to the large number of pigeons that were bred there. The Saracen piracy played a significant role in its history. This led to the construction of watchtowers (14th century) and as early as the 16th century the watchtower at the harbour entrance was built.

In 1713 they built the battery in Cala Barbacana. In view of the busy trading activity, towards the end of the 18th century the first infrastructures were established in the harbour and in the town centre; the Customs building was inaugurated in 1854. During the last third of the 19th century, the wine trade flourished and the infrastructure was improved, but the outbreak of phylloxera caused a drastic decline of the commercial activity. It would take until 1947 and 1960 for the trade to recover.

In parallel with the trading activity, fishing has always been part of the economy, and it increased after 1908 with the commissioning of trawlers. In 1876 they approved a building project to develop the area around the chapel, and the first urban centre was built around the oratory, which had existed since 1808. The area around the Customs building was developed in 1880, originally laid out as a summer resort. Between 1884 and 1987, on the site of the small oratory, they built the parish church of the Virgen del Carme (Our Lady of Mount Carmel) to the design by Pere d'Alcàntara Penya. In 1935 a public school was inaugurated.

After 1960, with the onset of tourism, the developments of Sa Bateria, Cala Barbacana, Cala Marçal, La Punta, La Fe and Cas Corso were established. There are three typical construction types in Portocolom: houses with balconies on the first floor (in the streets Pescadors, Llevant and Mar), boatsheds or boathouses (in the area of Es Riuetó, Sa Capella and Sa Bassa Nova), and the lighthouse (on the seaward side of the harbour entrance, in the Sa Punta area).