Historical Curiosities | Ports de Balears

I Centenario de la Junta y VI Centenario del puerto comercial de Palma de Mallorca - Programa de actos náuticos

The Portopí lighthouse under the spotlight in a new project organised by the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility

05/09/2024

The Portopí lighthouse has become a key feature of the new Guardians de l'Arxiu (Guardians of the Archive) project, launched by the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility. This initiative sets out to add value to Spain's historical heritage through publicising unique documents and materials related to the country's most significant constructions. Standing in the Port of Palma, the Portopí lighthouse has been selected as one of the first to feature in this campaign, allowing the public to rediscover its historical and cultural importance. This flagship lighthouse is one of the oldest in the world still in operation and has lit up the entrance to the port for more than 700 years, converting it into a symbol of Spanish seafaring. The Portopí lighthouse houses a unique exhibition of maritime signals, where a large number of original pieces are preserved, including optical systems, rotating machines, the history of fuels and the technological evolution of lighthouses. The exhibition can be visited with prior booking through www.farsdebalears.com. Guardians de l'Arxiu Guardians de l'Arxiu is an informative space that aims to promote the country's rich heritage through conservation and custody of documentary material, highlighting the work of the professionals who watch over the protection of historical heritage. This project also seeks to generate greater recognition and appreciation for the historical treasures that form part of our heritage. Each month, Guardians de l'Arxiu will focus on a different heritage building, uncovering details and materials that are normally out of reach of the public such as books, maps, drawings and rare photographs.

History

The APB honours the Chapel of Sant Elm in the Port of Palma for International Archives Day

05/06/2024

The Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) is celebrating International Archives Day on 9 June with an exhibition dedicated to the Chapel of Sant Elm, following the request by the Archive's staff. This exhibition aims to raise public awareness of the history of this religious building, currently located in the Contramoll-Mollet in the Port of Palma. On Thursday 6th June from 10 am to 7 pm and Friday 7th June from 10 am to 2 pm, visitors can discover the secrets of this small chapel that has always formed part of Palma's maritime façade, but which has taken on different spaces over the course of its history. As such, the display features a booklet entitled Noticias, traslado y restitución al culto de la Iglesia de San Telmo (News, transfer and restoration to worship of the Church of San Telmo), which dates back to 1947, a map of the Port of Palma from 1853, as well as records from the Construction Board of the Port of Palma referring to the chapel and reproductions of the pictures of boats painted on tiles that are currently on display in the religious building. A tour has also been prepared starting at the APB's institutional headquarters and ending at the Chapel of Sant Elm, in the Contramoll Mollet, to discover what all the historical maritime pieces on display in the open air in this section of the Port of Palma mean to the public. Bibliographic material donated to the APB last April by historian Juan Pou Muntaner will also be on display at the exhibition. The Archive team has reconstructed the historian's office with personal objects donated by the family, such as the plaque commemorating the Ciutat de Palma prize and some photographs he kept on his desk. Original maritime and port-related documents compiled by the historian will also be on display. Bibliographic material donated by historian Juan Pou Muntaner The APB announced that in April the historian Juan Pou Muntaner, author of numerous works dedicated to marine history and the history of Mallorca in the 19th century, had donated bibliographic material to its archive. The donation, made by his nephew José Francisco Roig Palliser, includes magazines, bulletins, textbooks, collections, encyclopaedias and reports on maritime and port-related subjects. Of particular note is a collection of reports from the port of Palma, dating from 1965 to 1997. The donation also includes reports from the Trasmediterránea company (1918-1935) and the Unión Naval de Levante (1957-1981). Through this donation, the port organisation's archive has added more than a thousand documents over the last few months, helping to create a historical snapshot of the Balearic Islands' ports.

History Port-city

The APB has received a donation of bibliographic material compiled by historian Juan Pou Muntaner

22/04/2024

Coinciding with World Book Day, the Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) is delighted to publicise its acceptance of a donation of bibliographic material from the family of Juan Pou Muntaner, a historian who authored numerous works on marine history and the history of Mallorca in the 19th century. The port authority's archive thus contains over a thousand documents that help to provide a historical snapshot of the ports in the Balearic Islands. The donation, made by his nephew José Francisco Roig Palliser, includes magazines, bulletins, textbooks, collections, encyclopaedias and reports on maritime and port-related subjects. Of particular note is a collection of reports from the port of Palma, dating from 1965 to 1997. The donation also includes reports from the Trasmediterránea company (1918-1935) and the Unión Naval de Levante (1957-1981). Most of the documents are originals compiled by the historian himself. However, the Trasmediterráneareports are photocopies collected by Pou Muntaner during his time as an employee of the shipping company, and these particular texts are of considerable historical value due to the years to which they refer. Background The APB first acquired copies of books authored or co-authored by Juan Pou Muntaner in 1975, under the direction of Rafael Soler Gayá. They included Historia del Puerto de Palma de Mallorca (The History of the Port of Palma – 1974), Noticias y relaciones históricas de Mallorca (Historical News and Accounts from Mallorca – 1985), and Siglo y medio de tráfico marítimo en Baleares (Monografías) (One and a Half Centuries of Maritime Traffic in the Balearic Islands – Monographs). Juan Pou Muntaner As a researcher, Juan Pou Muntaner focused his studies on the history of the navy and the history of Mallorca in the 19th century, and his work earned him the Ciutat de Palma Prize for research in 1972. Pou Muntaner also contributed to the Boletín de la Sociedad Arqueológica Lul-liana (Bulletin of the Lul-liana Archaeological Society) and other scientific publications, as well as being published in Mallorcan daily newspapers, such as Baleares, Diario de Mallorca and Hoja del Lunes. His most notable work as a historian was Noticias y relaciones históricas de Mallorca (1985), in which Pou Muntaner provides annual data on the island's economy, production, and industrial and commercial activity.

History Port-city

Javier Sanz takes office as president of the Balearic Islands Port Authority

14/09/2023

The order of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda has been published today in the Official State Gazette (BOE) announcing the appointment of José Javier Sanz Fernández as the new president of the Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB), replacing Jaume Colom Adrover, who is stepping down from the post. The Government Council of the Balearic Islands named Javier Sanz as the new president of the APB on 1 September 2023. Once the Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda had been informed of the appointment, it was published in the BOE (Official State Gazette). Born in Madrid in 1949, Javier Sanz has a degree in Economics and an MBA. His professional career has been closely linked to private enterprise in senior management positions. He has also served as president of the Real Club Náutico de Palma and is currently president of the Real Federación Española de Vela (Royal Spanish Sailing Federation).

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The APB brings its 150th anniversary to a close with an institutional event at the Port Centre

24/02/2023

The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has brought to a close a year of commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the body that gave rise to the APB, the Port of Palma Board of Works, with an institutional event attended by representatives of civil society, the port community and political authorities. Among them were the president of the Government, Francina Armengol the president of Puertos del Estado, Álvaro Rodríguez Dapena, the delegate of the Government, Aina Calvo and the president of the Parliament of the Balearic Islands, Vicenç Thomàs, and others. Also present were the members of the APB's Board of Directors and former presidents, directors and secretaries of the institution. The event combined videos on the past, present and future of the APB with speeches by the leading authorities. Jaume Colom, president of the APB, took the opportunity to highlight the role of the people who have made possible "a modern development of our ports, which has had a direct impact on the economic growth of our islands over the last century". People, most of them "anonymous, proud and jealous of their daily work", he added. "Men and women whose daily activities, whether more extensive or more specific, make the complex operations of the ports so essential and vital in the islands for the supply and transport of citizens". The most moving moment of the event was the tribute to former presidents, directors and secretaries of the APB, represented by Rafael Soler and Pere Bonet. The former is the longest living director, while Bonet is the last lighthouse keeper of the Portopí lighthouse in the port of Palma. On behalf of all those present, they were presented with the first two issues of the lithographs produced by the artist Marta Ruiz Anguera for the occasion, which will be given to the workers of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands. After the speeches by Rodríguez Dapena and Francina Armengol, the commemorative plaque that will be displayed at the entrance to the recently inaugurated institutional headquarters was unveiled. The person in charge of doing the honours was María del Carmen Vico, the institution's youngest employee, as a symbol of the succession of generations and the public commitment to society that the APB has assumed since its foundation. The wording on the plaque is dedicated to the men and women who have made the port their public service mission, preserving the legacy of their predecessors and passing it on to future generations. 'De tot cor’ The theme 'De tot cor', on loan from the Mallorcan artist Tomeu Penya, has been the motto of the 150th anniversary of the public body. The event ended with a brief performance by Tomeu Penya playing the guitar, as a final token of gratitude and a vision of the future. 150 years of history A wide range of different activities have marked a year of celebration and projection towards the future. From publications, exhibitions to congresses and cultural shows, the five ports have hosted the scheduled events. The aim of these anniversaries is to remember as well as to strengthen the spirit of service of the port authority towards the port community and society in general. A mission with different names and competencies over time, which seeks to respond more effectively to the daily challenges that arise in the port area, adapting and modernising the port facilities and services in order to improve the fluidity and comfort of goods and passenger traffic.

150th anniversary History Port-city

Today the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands celebrates its 150th anniversary

16/08/2022

Today the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the approval by Royal Order of the creation of the Works Committee of the Port of Palma, its own port management body that gave rise to the current APB after several name changes and ports of competence throughout its history. On 16 August 1872, the Director General of Public Works, acting on behalf of the Minister of Public Works, authorised the creation of "a Committee responsible for everything related to the improvements made in the port of Palma". This committee was made up of the governor of the province, as president, and representatives of the Provincial Council, Town Council, Trade Section, Board of Agriculture, Industry and Trade, two merchants, two shipowners, two landowners and, lastly, the Navy commander and civil engineer. 150th anniversary banner To commemorate this date, the APB has commissioned a banner with the names of the current members of its Board of Directors. The illustrator, Flavia Gargiulo, and the calligrapher, Paz Alomar, have been commissioned to immortalise for the entity’s history a list of the highest-ranking officials of the port authority. The APB thus continues the tradition begun in 1972, when it celebrated the centenary of the creation of the port's managing body, with two banners designed with the names of the members of the Committee of the Port of Palma in 1872 and 1972. B. Moll designed these banners. Mariano de Quintana is listed as the head of the 1872 Port Committee, while one hundred years later, in 1972, Miguel Nigorra Oliver held the position of president, with Antonio Dicenta de Vera as director and Antonio Cirerol Thomás as secretary. In 2022, Francesc Antich Oliver is elected president, Jorge Nasarre López director and María Antonia Ginard Moll secretary of the Board of Directors, so far the only woman to hold this position in the history of the institution. Domingo Bonnín Daniel, representing the Consell Insular de Mallorca and the latest addition to the Board of Directors, appears in the 2022 banner. Pomegranates and Gothic lettering The Madrid-based illustrator, Flavia Gargiulo, has used flowers and pomegranates to illustrate the banner, with golden details to enhance the 150th anniversary logo created for the occasion, while the calligrapher, Paz Alomar, has opted for Gothic lettering to continue the classic tradition of the APB’s banners. The work is done on natural goatskin parchment.

150th anniversary History

Antonia Salas, the first administrative officer of the Port Council

08/03/2022

Throughout history, many women have fought for a prominent place in a world that seemed to be dominated by men. Many improvements and customs have changed over the years thanks to their efforts which, in one way or another, have marked a before and after. For some of them, history has reserved an outstanding place for great contributions. Others have made their mark in a more anonymous but equally definitive way. This is the case of Antonia Salas Gilet, the first woman to occupy an administrative post on what was then known as the Board of the Port of Palma, the initial institution of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands. Coinciding with Women's Day, we talked about this exceptional woman with her daughter, Gabriela Tous, also a former worker at the Port of Palma. Gabriela remembers the family atmosphere among the workers, the parties with the rest of the Public Works employees, life in the port... In 1965, they moved to the Vell quay to live, a period that she remembers as being a wonderful time. It was 1940. A young Antonia was working in the family business, Casa Gilet, as a typing teacher. Her work was already well known: Her writings stood out for their neatness and clarity. Even more so: In 1933, she had achieved the maximum number of keystrokes in the 2nd Typing Competition in Palma de Mallorca. As was customary at that time, the Port Board asked Casa Gilet for a clerk to work on a specific project. Shortly afterwards, she became indispensable and was offered a permanent position. Thus, in January 1945, at a time when the only women hired in the administrations worked as cleaners, Antonia became the first career civil servant of the Port Board and probably one of the first in Spain, as far as she knew. In fact, it would take another 20 years for the second woman to join the Port Board as an administrator. And what about her mother? “She was brave, ahead of her time, a pioneer in many respects,” recalls Gabriela. Her relationship with her male colleagues was splendid, so much so that Gabriela remembers them as a big family, like her uncles: “My mother always felt good in this atmosphere”. Those were difficult times for a working woman, and even more so for balancing professional and private lives: There was no provision for pregnancy leave, and women were discharged a few days after giving birth, having to return to their jobs. In 1980, the year in which she retired, she was recognised for her 40 years of dedication to the public administration. But surely Antonia Salas’ greatest satisfaction was how proud of her family felt and still feel today. A woman who stood up to stereotypes and broke down barriers to excel in her profession. And, most importantly, she blazed a trail.

History