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Ciutadella
«Ciutadella conserva un casco antiguo de estilo medieval.»Ciutadella preserves a medieval-style old town.
Ciutadella is at the western end of Menorca, around a narrow harbour set into the rock. It was the island's capital until 1722, when the British moved it to Maó; however, the nobility remained here, which is why all the stately palaces are in this city.
Did you know
Horses rear up among the crowd.
During the festival of Sant Joan, horses rear up among the crowd in the square in one of the oldest equestrian carnivals in Spain.
How they talk in Ciutadella
The Menorcan dialect uses 'salat' articles like «es» and «sa»; «Ciutadella» literally means citadel in Catalan. «Avarca» is the name of the traditional Menorcan footwear.
idò
Then; so; well. Conjunction and discourse marker very common in Balearic Catalan, used to connect or introduce a response.
Everyday life in Ciutadella
The «Jaleo» of Sant Joan
At the end of June, horses enter a square full of people and rise on their hind legs to the rhythm of music, for hours. It is the festival that the ciutadellencs wait for all year, and pomada is drunk.
«Los caballos se levantan entre la gente.» — The horses rise up among the people.
The «port» at the bottom of the gorge
The port is at the end of a long and narrow inlet, below the level of the city: you go down via ramps, and the restaurants are on the water with the rock behind them.
The porticoed streets of the centre
The porticoes of Ses Voltes cross the heart of the city and you walk in the shade: it is the street for strolling, and on summer evenings you walk back and forth.
What to eat in Ciutadella
Caldereta de langosta
Lobster cooked in its own sauce with onion, tomato and bread, served in an earthenware pot.
Flaons
Pastry parcels filled with fresh cheese, baked in the oven and sprinkled with sugar.
Greixonera
Dessert made with leftover ensaimadas, eggs and milk, baked in the earthenware pot that gives it its name.
Queso Mahón
Cow's milk cheese in a brick shape, with an orange rind rubbed with oil.
Festivals in Ciutadella
Festes de Sant Joan
the 23rd and 24th of June
The «caixers» on horseback enter the Caragol des Born and rear up among the crowded people, for hours.
What to see in Ciutadella
Casco antiguo
The porticoes, noble palaces and stone portals of the city that has remained aristocratic.
Catedral de Menorca
The Catalan Gothic cathedral built over the mosque, with a single nave.
Naveta des Tudons
A construction in the shape of an overturned ship, made of dry stone, more than three thousand years old.
Port de Ciutadella
The narrow and recessed port, where every now and then the water disappears all at once.
Where Ciutadella comes from
The capital that lost its title
Talayotic era
The talayots
The island fills up with megalithic constructions: talayots, taulas and navetas.
1287
The conquest
Alfonso III takes Menorca; Ciutadella is the capital.
1558
The sack
The Turks destroy it and deport the inhabitants: the city must be rebuilt from scratch.
1722
The lost capital
The British move the capital to Mahón; the bishop and the nobility remain here.
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