BELLVER CASTLE

The imposing mass of the Bellver Castle seems to counterbalance the graceful weight of the cathedral, whose Gothic lines are clearly visible on the other side of the bay. At 137 meter above sea level and enveloped in a thick hillside pine forest, the castle was located in quite a strategic position: in fact, it offers complete control of the planes, the city and the bay. King Jaime II decreed it to be built as a sort of sanatorium, since he had contracted tuberculosis and wished to have a residence in a healthy, mild climate where he could rest and get well.

Architect Pedro Salvá supervised the construction, which lasted roughly forty years: the King, in fact, was able to spend only the last 18 months of his life there. Upon his death, Jaime II´s successor, Jaime III, took up residence in the castle but when he was defeated and died a heroes´s death at the hands of the King of Aragon in the battle of Lluchmayour (1343), the castle was instead turned into a prison for his wife, Queen Violante, and their children.

It remained a prison for many centuries to come: the French astronomer Aragó found refuge there, while General Luis de Lacy was executed there for crime of professing liberal ideas.

Since the period of construction was relatively brief, the castle/fortress today features a perfectly homogeneous style. It is near-perfect example of 14th century architecture and is the only round fortress in Europe.There is a circular wall around it re inforced by several towers: there are horse-shoe-shaped and four are guard towers. Another round tower stands alone: it is the "donjon", called the " Tower of Homage", and is linked to the main body of the building by a narrow arched budge.

The round exterior shape of the fortress is repeated in the inner court, characterized by two orders of galleries, one above the other, with exceptionally elegant arches. The pure white of the building stones should not deceive us, however, into thinking that they had always been that way: just one hundred years ago, the castle was stripped clean of the black soot patina that had covered it almost entirely for centuries. In fact, after a 17th century outbreak of the plague, a torch had been passed along its walls to disinfect it.

Today, the Bellver Castle (which means "beautiful view") houses the Provincial Museum of archaeology, painting and numismatics.