Courtyard Can Vivot

He had inherited the house from the Villalonga family, who had lived there since the early 16th C. The first Marquis of Vivot, Joan Sureda y Villalonga (1669-1752), was a faithful supporter of Philip of Anjou’s cause during the Spanish War of Succession (1701-1715). In 1711, in the midst of the Austrian rule in Mallorca, a pro-Bourbon conspiracy was discovered in this house, resulting in Joan Sureda’s arrest. He was then taken to Barcelona and sentenced to death. In the end, he managed to escape this punishment, and returned to Mallorca with the Bourbon expedition led by the knight D’Aspheld. Philip V acknowledged his services by granting him the title Marquis de Vivot, which he was awarded in 1717.

As of 1690, the first marquis of Vivot undertook a thorough renovation of his original house, formerly known as Can Villalonga, the former residence of the Desclapers family. He added neighbouring dwellings, among which we can find the Gabella de la Sal d’en Catlar, a salt store which still conserves the 13thcentury pointed arches.

The entrance is made from pressed earth and features columns with a convex shaft and Corinthian capitals, and a gallery with three arches. The oldest remains of this building are the underground basements with barrel vaulted ceilings, which have been identified as cellars that date back to the Islamic period.