Hello
and welcome back to the history page. I would like to wish everyone a belated
Happy New Year and to apologize for my delayed return to the site. I had promised
to regale the readership with an artist's profile for last week's edition, but
ended up extending my holiday instead. Christmas seems to usher in a time of easy
living, especially for islanders who do not get a chance to unwind in the summer.
Now I'm back to the daily grind, however, in light of the upcoming fiestas of
Sant Antoni, I'll have to postpone my debut as an art appreciator and resume in
our usual historical vein. Sant Antoni is one of those lucky
towns that celebrate two major fiestas. One of its red-letter days is 24th August,
Saint Bartholomew's Day (see our Ibiza History Culture Archive article Weekly Edition
025 of Saturday 18th August 2001), while the other is 17th January, the actual
day of the town's namesake, St. Anthony. As one can imagine, the two fiestas are
of a thoroughly different nature. The summer celebration is an action-packed affair
with spectacular fireworks and masses of tourists who, already in holiday mode,
help to fuel the festivities. (I might add that last summer, film stars Goldie
Hawn and Kurt Russell attended the Sant Bartomeu fiestas and had a grand time
with their two young children.) Winter Warmth
Naturally, the winter celebration is much more low-key, although, it is by
no means less enjoyable. Despite the cold weather, there is a genuine sense of
warmth and familiarity as the villagers gather together to make merry in a way
not possible in the presence of so many tourists - who, after all, are strangers
both to the locals as well as to each other. This note of anonymity is utterly
lacking during the winter celebrations, a condition which seems to foster conviviality
and deepen the bonds of community. Furthermore, the Sant
Antoni fiesta is last day that islanders traditionally eat Salsa Nadal, which,
you may remember, is a rich Christmas pudding. Many Ibicenco families try to eke
out their rations of this notorious dessert so that it will last until the 17th
January, thus observing the saint's day and simultaneously marking the end of
a long, satisfying Yuletide. Needless to day, the Sant Antoni Town Hall never
removes the town's Christmas lights until after their patron has been duly honoured.
Historical Emendations Turning our attention
now to the more historical aspects of the event, Sant Antoni was one of the very
first post-Conquest settlements. Its church dates back to 1305 and was probably
the second of the four original chapels to be built outside the protective walls
of Dalt Vila. (The first was, by all indications, a now non-existent chapel along
the shore of Santa Eulalia that has been dated to 1302; but more on that next
month.) Although Ibiza's Llibre de Repartiment (a record
of immigration) has not survived to the present day, it is known that, during
the one hundred years following the Conquest (1235), the population in the quartó
de Portmany grew steadily. Naturally, the modest stream of settlers that trickled
to the island from Catalonia were careful to choose the best tracts of farmland
and the moist, fertile plain of Portmany comprised some of the most attractive
tillage. A spring-fed stream known as the Torrent de Buscastell flowed down from
the hills that surround the Great Port, nourishing the fields and providing abundant
water for people and livestock. The gently sloping lands
that fan out from the Portus Magnus Bay (into which the torrent emptied) were
soon allotted to Catalan serfs. These brave settlers eked out a living by farming
wheat, barley, legumes, etc. and by raising livestock, generally pigs, sheep and
goats. It may surprise many readers, as it did me, to learn that fishing was not
practised in any commercial capacity during these early post-Conquest years, or
indeed, for several centuries afterwards. Piracy was so ferocious that taking
to the sea for any reason was nothing short of a death wish. The defeat of the
Turks at Lepanto in 1571 marked a turning point in maritime safety, though it
would still take over a century before the Moorish threat was held more or less
in check as well. Fishing, then, did not become an everyday
part of island industry until the 18th and 19th centuries - which is not to say
that nobody ate fish. Several edible varieties swam freely in the sweet waters
of the Buscastell Torrent where boys would fish them out for dinner. If a man
had a free day he might cast his line off some coastal rocks to see what he could
catch, or maybe even venture offshore in his llaüt - just a little - in hopes
of finding a shoal of morenas (eels). Hunger as much as the pleasures of seafood
would have impelled many a farmer to make such forays, but fishing of an industrial/commercial
nature was simply not feasible until modern times. Saint
Anthony: Patron of Agriculture and Animals Farming, therefore, was
the mainstay of survival and explains why the Portmanians chose Saint Anthony
as their patron. This saint, a 4th century abbot, was known as a protector of
animals and agriculture, and so was held very dear to those who lived off the
land. In 1305, at the request of the inhabitants of Portmany,
the Archbishop of Tarragona issued a decree of erection for a chapel that would
provide much-needed asylum for both spirit and body. Poor
Defensive Site The reason for the early construction of the Portmany
church rests on the fact that a great many of the quartons' fincas were situated
on a plain that was not only poorly sheltered by nature, but also lay quite close
to the water's edge. Moreover, the great Bay of Portus Magnus was of such a welcoming
nature that it allowed liberal entrance to friend and foe alike. Through dire
necessity, the haven-giving walls of a stout temple (which probably resembled
a bunker more than a house of God) had to be raised as quickly as possible. Today,
virtually nothing is left of the original Sant Antoni chapel, for, in the 16th
century, major reforms were undertaken to enlarge and modernize the crumbling
edifice. Continuing renovations have been made through the years, and today the
well-tended Sant Antoni church stands proudly in a village where too few people
appreciate its beauty. Among the features that distinguish it are the stone tower
that stands as a rearguard and the lovely covered porch (porxo) and open-air patio
that spread out grandly before it. The shiny cobblestones that pave the frontage
are perhaps the only elements that remain from the original 14th century chapel.
Closing That's all for this time. Hopefully
I've managed to improve the public image of a town that is regularly maligned
by the British press and, indeed, is often referred to with a certain mocking
derision even by other Ibicencos. In its defence, I would like to say that Sant
Antoni has been overrun by tourism precisely because it was such a charming village.
It is true that its original charm has been somewhat marred by too much growth
in too short a time, but the old beauty is still there for those whose eyes can
perceive it. Also, Sant Antoni is the home of the Ibiza History Culture website as well as
most of its contributors. That must say something for the place - though I'm not
sure what! Please join us next week when we'll take a
look at the founding of Santa Agnès on the occasion of its patron saint
day. Until then, have a good week, Emily Kaufman
emilykaufman@ibizahistoryculture.com | |