‘Serra de Tramuntana, before and after’ brings together 35 images of the world heritage site that help us understand the human footprint over the years.

The Consell de Mallorca is publishing a selection of 35 compositions focusing on the delimitation of the Serra de Tramuntana as a World Heritage Site to provide the public with tools to help them understand, understandably and attractively, the mark left by humans on the natural and cultural heritage.

TDB keeps you informed. Follow us on: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

The Consell de Mallorca publishes a re-photography project comparing the evolution of the landscape of the Serra de Tramuntana since the 19th century

This initiative is carried out with the collaboration of the dissemination project ‘Die Balearen, the Balearic Islands before and after’, promoted by the content designer Lluc Julià Fàbregues, which since 2002 has already compared more than a hundred places in the Balearic Islands.

Now, with the support of the Consell de Mallorca, the project ‘La Serra de Tramuntana, before and after’ has been published on the Consortium’s website. It features a selection of 35 World Heritage images that show the landscape’s evolution. The images include comparisons of some of the Serra’s most representative sites, such as the Cartoixa de Valldemossa, the castle of Alaró, Deià, the snow houses, the defence towers, and the possessions.

For the Serra de Tramuntana island director, Antoni Solivellas, this project shows that ‘despite the inevitable changes of the passage of time, some landscapes and heritage elements are still observable today, and therefore we have been able to appreciate and preserve them; although it is true that others should make us reflect on our intervention in the Serra’.

‘Die Balearen, the Balearic Islands before and after’ was born out of Julià’s concern to create tools that would help to raise awareness of the imprint of human beings on their environment. To do so, he selects illustrations from the extensive work Die Balearen in Wort und Bild Geschildert by Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria (1847-1915), structured in nine volumes, six of them dedicated to Mallorca, which is considered to be the most important genre work of the 19th century.

Archduke Ludwig Salvator is a key figure in the understanding of the Serra de Tramuntana. He arrived in Mallorca in 1867, when he was 20 years old, and lived practically the rest of his life. In love with the north coast, he faithfully portrayed the life of the time.

The comparison of photographs and engravings reveals the few artistic licences the Archduke allowed himself in his works. In order to contrast past and present, Lluc Julià’s task has been to find the exact point and perspective from which they were taken, and he has also tried to respect the time of day and the time of year. This project, says Lluc Julià, ‘is as valid to denounce the landscape that we have modified with little success as it is to vindicate the landscape that we have been able to preserve’.

The compositions can be seen on the official website of the Serra de Tramuntana Consortium, www.serradetramuntana.net/refotografia.