The three projects aim to protect different elements of the island’s heritage with 14.3 million euros from the tourism tax
The Consell de Mallorca is presenting three heritage projects to be financed by the Sustainable Tourism Tax. These are the acquisition of the Castell Santueri in Felanitx, the acquisition and urgent maintenance work at the Fábrica Nueva in Sóller, and the restoration of Mallorca’s windmills. Three projects which, explained to the Vice President of the Consell de Mallorca and Councillor of Culture and Heritage, Antònia Roca, would cost a total of 14.3 million euros.
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The Fàbrica Nova in Sóller, the Castell Santueri in Felanitx and the mills of Mallorca: the projects presented by the Consell de Mallorca to be financed by the ITS
Roca stresses that ‘it is an “opportunity” to be able to present these projects to the ITS, as resources derived from tourist activity would be used to rehabilitate and conserve Mallorca’s heritage, which in many cases is in a very degradable state of conservation. With this funding, it would be possible to maintain and preserve these elements of Mallorca’s cultural heritage, which have a high intervention cost’.
The mills, the Santueri Castle in Felanitx and the Fàbrica Nova in Sóller are important elements of the island’s heritage and contribute to making Mallorca a unique tourist destination where places of great cultural value can be discovered. The financing of these projects would guarantee not only the protection of the elements but also public access for tourist, cultural and educational purposes.
The Fàbrica Nova de Sóller
In 2018 the Fàbrica Nova building was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest. The building is located in an urban setting, in the centre of the municipality of Sóller, and requires urgent maintenance work for it to be converted.
Considered one of the few remaining witnesses to the textile industry in Sóller, it is the only textile factory in Mallorca that conserves all of its architectural components. Part of the machinery is still preserved in its installations, which has led to its inclusion in the catalogue of the ‘100 elements of Spain’s industrial heritage’ drawn up by the International Committee for the Conservation of Industrial Heritage (TICCIH) within the framework of the National Plan for Industrial Heritage.
The acquisition and urgent maintenance work on the buildings and surroundings of the Fàbrica Nova de Sóller would have a biannual budget of 7.2 million euros. A total of 4.7 million euros would correspond to the purchase of the building, 500,000 euros to the costs derived from the purchase and, finally, two million euros would go towards restorations.
Santueri Castle in Felanitx
The Castell de Santueri was catalogued as an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1998. It is a project that requires urgent interventions with a high economic investment in order to preserve its conservation and enable safe public access.
The Santueri Castle in Felanitx is a rock castle characterised by its location in an elevated area that is difficult to access, where its walls adapt to the abrupt terrain that surrounds it and where the cliffs are part of the defensive system. There are only three in Mallorca: the castle of the king of Pollença, the castle of Alaró and the Santueri castle of Felanitx.
In addition to the castle, other elements in the surrounding area highlight the heritage and historical value of the area, such as the Cova de Bous, the Cova Calenta and the balma des Confessionari des Moros. This project has a budget of 3.8 million euros.
Restoration of windmills on Mallorca
The Consell de Mallorca has also presented a project to use the Sustainable Tourism Tax to finance a new call for proposals for the restoration of windmills on the island to continue promoting the conservation of the island’s cultural heritage. The proposal contemplates a total budget of three million euros distributed in a biannual programme, that is, with an investment of 1.5 million euros each year.
Roca recalls that ‘these buildings, emblematic of the Mallorcan rural landscape, represent an important historical, architectural and ethnological legacy that it is essential to preserve for future generations: that is why the ITS call for projects is a unique opportunity to intervene in a heritage that has suffered continuous deterioration due to a lack of resources for its maintenance’.
Through this project, the Consell de Mallorca aims to encourage the conservation of these cultural assets, promoting interventions that respect their heritage value, structural integrity and authenticity.
The use of the ITS to finance this project ensures that the resources derived from tourism are reinvested in the preservation of the cultural elements that make Mallorca a unique destination. In this way, a model of responsible tourism is promoted, which not only contributes to the economic development of the island but also respects and values its heritage.
