Esporles is located on the inner face of the Sierra de Tramuntana and borders Palma, Valldemossa, Banyalbufar and Puigpunyent. The municipality is one of the main access gates to the Sierra (only 12 km from the capital), which can be easily reached both by road and on foot, with public or private transport. Although it’s not very extensive (about 36 km²), its configuration and orography make it highly appreciated by all those who are looking for a quality territory in all aspects. Thick oaks predominate on the slopes of the mountains of sa Fita del Ram, the mola of Son Pacs and the moletó of Sa Granja; in the middle strip, sets of dry stone wetlands with olive trees, carob trees, almond trees and vineyards; and in the valleys, fertile irrigated land, especially green with orchards and orange trees.
Life is concentrated in the two historic centres of the town: The town of Esporles and the llogaret de s'Esgleieta, although we also find newer ones such as Ses Rotgetes de Canet, Son Cabaspre or Es Verger.
Water has been part of the Esporles culture since ancient times and has been key in the economic development and in defining a marked personality.
To the north it connects with the road that crosses the Sierra (Ma-10) and just 9 km away is the Port des Canonge, a fishermen's cove where the people of Esporles have always had shelter.
The writer Alexandre Ballerster noted that «Esporles, at the bottom of time, is built on two urban centres, two original towns of the current village. A double pebble, Vila Vella and Vila Nova, with their own names, both with character and tradition. Esporles is a double pebble with Son Torrat as an appendage. Two environments with a third generative zone, Es Balladors, more modern». That's right: Esporles is shown as a town with many faces, but above all cohesive and strong: a town built with the sum of many voices.
The primitive nucleus was born under the shelter of the parish church in the 13th century, equipped with one of the oldest and most monumental rectories documented in the Sierra. On the other side of the Sant Pere stream, the streets of Vila Vella line up, where the houses show off their facades as a witness to the long past they treasure. The humblest alleys are also grouped here, such as those of Son Torrat, des Gorg, etc., which refer us to the simplicity of the life of a time.
At the other extreme, Vila Nova extends, a neighborhood born in the 18th and 19th centuries under the slopes of Es Rafal due to the need to accommodate a growing population. Architecture and popular art go hand in hand and give the visitor sgraffito facades and samples of painted tiles where hopes and fears, protections and beatitudes can be sensed.
Thus, between these two nuclei, the town has been growing little by little, creating new streets and avenues, new buildings (the “Casa del Pueblo”, the Old Schools, the Slaughterhouse, the paper and fabric factories, etc.) and incipient neighbourhoods (Es Balladors, Sa Teulera, etc.).
The only historic village in the municipality is s'Esgleieta, located at the entrance to the Esporles valley, next to the Valldemossa road. Despite being a simple nucleus, the church of Sant Maria de l'Olivar, the houses, the only paved road and the Les Monges cistern make up a complex full of beauty and genuineness.
If you want to know a little more about our heritage, we invite you to do the urban routes.
History is a mirror in which we see ourselves reflected, both individually and j...
View routeExamples of popular culture abound in Esporles, with legends by townsfolk for th...
View routeWater is the source of life. It is an essential resource, skilfully harvested an...
View routeBetween the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Esporles was a pioneering town, ...
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