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
Weekly Edition 025), 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 quart�
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 lla�t
- 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 Agn�s on the
occasion of its patron saint day. Until then, have a good week,
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