The old city of Palma de Mallorca - The Palace and Museum March

[Photos] [Presentation] [Location] [Visits] [Culture] [Practical Information] [Other topics]

[Previous topics] [Balearic Islands] [Parent topics] [Via Gallica]

Introduction

The March Palace (Palau March) from Palma, the largest and most ostentatious palace of the Balearic Islands, was for decades one of the multiple residences of the family - extraordinarily rich - March. This modern building was built by the tycoon Majorcan Joan March Ordinas (1880-1962) (pronounced "jo-an marc"), at the time the richest man in Spain, if not Europe.

Location

The palace March in Palma - The Terrace. Click to enlarge the image in Adobe Stock (new tab).

The financial Joan March had acquired the site formerly occupied by the gardens of the monastery St. Dominic, this magnificent monastery of Preachers was built in Gothic style in the fourteenth century, and demolished in 1837 under the anticlerical government of Mendizábal.

This site was to make his palace a privileged enclave in the center, surrounded by famous sites such as Cathedral, the Palace of the Almudaina and former casino (Círculo Majorcan)… which now houses the Parliament Islands Balearics.

Visits

The Palace Museum March
Joan March had conceived this project palace in 1935, but the Spanish Civil War in the realization paralyzed, unable to start at the end of the war. The construction of the March palace lasted from 1939 to 1945, with the participation of artists and the most representative of this era artisans. The project is the work of Joan March’s architect, Guillermo Forteza and Madrid architect Luis Gutiérrez Soto (1900-1977) for whom the residence of March was one of the most important achievements of the complexity and the scope of work. The building has strong influences of Majorcan and Italian Baroque palaces. In its upper part, the palace has a total of eight floors. For the construction and decoration of the palace the mogul spent a small fortune on March palace was for decades the March family home in Palma. The youngest son of billionaire, Bartomeu March Servera (Palma, 1917 - Paris, 1998), was a collector of art without equal, he created an art foundation based in the March Palace, and endowment funds arts and literature of great value. Today the palace houses a museum, an auditorium, a library, partially open to the public since 1970, and a cafeteria.
The Palace facade
The main facade has a very refined ornamentation.

La Loggia
The facade has an elegant loggia with a beautiful view of Palma.

The Terrace
The terrace is an area of exceptional reception.

The Sculptures
In the March palace you can see a part of the sculpture collection of nineteenth and twentieth centuries Bartomeu March possessed Sa Torre Cega de Cala Ratjada (Henry Moore, Eduardo Chillida, Auguste Rodin, Barbara Hepworth, Andrea Alfaro, Pietro Consagra, Miguel Ortiz Berrocal, Xavier Corberó…). The most famous work is perhaps the "Buste de l’Homme qui Tombe" by Auguste Rodin (1882). The collection presents a wide variety of materials (granite, marble, bronze, iron, steel, polyester…), textures, colors and shapes.
In the center of the court: "Organ del Mar" Xavier Corberó (gold polyester, 1972).
To the left of the front: "Momentum" by Baltasar Lobo (marble Vovelda, 1976-1977). In the center of the rotunda, "Square form with cut" Henry Moore (black marble, 1969). To the right of the facade: "Trentanni" Andrea Cascella.
The Entrance Hall
To the left of the entrance hall room has a monumental eighteenth century Neapolitan crèche of great beauty (with 1,500 rooms). The work shows not only the birth of Jesus, but also the daily life of the time in a variety of human and animal figurines of a rich composition.

The Stairs
The vault of the main staircase is decorated with paintings by Josep Maria Sert (1874-1945).

The First Floor

The Dining Room




The Music Room

Collection of Maps
The March museum has some specimens of medieval cartography of the Majorcan school belonging to the collection of Bartomeu March. In Majorca, between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, there was a significant production of nautical charts by local cartographers. A large majority of these cards came from the island and the most famous were finished in public libraries or in private hands. It was a daunting task to gather this collection considered one of the best in the world. The sample presented here - well documented - brings together a group of great interest both for its technical perfection for its ornamental its preciousness.
Works of Josep Sert
Upstairs there are murals by Barcelona artist Josep Maria Sert (1874-1945) on the ceiling of the staircase and a wall of the music room. The vault of the staircase is divided into four parts, the first three representing the three virtues (courage, reason and inspiration) and the fourth incarnation of these three virtues in the person of Joan March. In the music room, the painting depicts a "Eastern Divan" in a lighter note.
The March Library
The museum has an extensive library and an auditorium are held once or twice per month free classical music concerts. Temporary exhibitions are also held on the ground floor. The Library of the March Foundation, which specializes in the theme of Islands, contains a bibliographic background from the sixteenth century to the present day. The library holds more than 2000 manuscripts (codices and autograph documents) and 60,000 books, periodicals, pamphlets and other printed materials.

Practical Information

Visiting hours

The palace March in Palma - Included in the price of admission: the luxury toilet .... Click to enlarge the image.

Visit:

Since 2001, the March Palace (not to be confused with the foundation Joan March) is open to the public. The elegant open gallery on the front and on the garden terrace is one of the best views in the heart of the city of Palma.

Summer hours (April to October): Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 18:00;

Winter hours (November to March): Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 17:00, Saturday from 10:00 to 14:00. Closed Sundays and holidays.

Entry fee: € 3.60.

Address: No. 18 Carrer del Palau Reial. Plaça de la Reina, up the grand staircase leading to the Carrer del Palau Reial: the March Palace stands above.

Phone: 00 34 971 711 122

Website: www.march.es

Restaurant
There is a cafe on the ground floor of the palace and March meeting very popular with tourists due to its location near the cathedral and palace of Almudaina.