As well as its impressive houses and mansions, Palma’s old quarter has an added value that simply cannot be purchased in many places: history, a witness to so much internal and external wealth over the centuries.

“The neighbourhood is venerable, noble and silent, with narrow streets and spacious houses. The sky makes its bright azure vibrate like a lance between the roofs of the ancestral homes”. This is how the writer Llorenç Villalonga described Palma’s old town in his book Mort de Dama, published in 1931. At that time, it was inhabited by the city’s nobility and bourgeoisie, as it still is today.

Palma, a Mediterranean capital, with its past marked by Romans, Arabs and Christians, as well as other civilisations, retains the influence of all these cultures. The result today is a cosmopolitan city, and one that is very convenient to live in, which also preserves the essence of a splendid past, palpable in all its nooks and crannies caressed by the sea breeze.

An example of this simple yet beautiful Mediterranean majesty is the 17th-century palatial building that was converted into the five-star hotel Can Cera. A space of unpretentious beauty, but at the same time glamorous and sophisticated, with its period furniture that complements the avant-garde artworks and paintings to perfection.

Along the same lines in terms of architecture and design, what was formerly the small palace of Can Serra de Cavalleria is now one of Palma’s most emblematic buildings. Elements like its 14th-century Gothic pointed ogival arch, 15th-century coffered ceiling or the perfectly-conserved frescos on the top storey, depicting medieval ships, are jewels only within the reach of those who know how to appreciate and enjoy this piece of Palma’s history whilst living surrounded by all of the commodities of a high-end home.