| Finca Raixa |
| Cultural Mallorca |
 The Consell of Majorca and the Foundation Biodiversity have opened Finca Raixa to the public. Initially, the property can be visited every weekend until the end of year. There will be guides available who know the history of the property and will take visitors on a guided tour of approximately one hour. Raixa was formerly an Arabian estate. It was given to Cardinal DOn Antoni Despuig i Damero, who came from one of the most important noble dynasties on the island, the counts of Montenegro, in 1797. The cardinal had a great affection for ancient art and redesigned his gardens as befit his hobby. Landscaping at that time was dominated by the Italian technique. Despiug whose favourite persuit was archeology and who financed a number of excavations on the island, passionately indulged in the vogue for garden statues as can be seen when visiting these wonderful gardens. The central stone staircase at Raixa has 63 steps along wtih its dark green line of cypress trees a truly magnificent feature. Apparently the Mallorcan writer Llorenç Villalonga was inspired to write one of his books when in the gardens of Raixa. Of course no matter how a garden is designed it is really inconceivable with no water. There is a huge rectangular pond at Raixa which is 100 metres long and was actually, for many years, Mallorca's largest reservoir. In the 19th century much was made of the Baroque pool with a labyrinth of romantic, overhung paths leading to the pond being created. This brought Raixa right up to date with the garden fashions of the age. At Raixa even Despuig showed his desire for the pictuesque by adding a medieval window, taken from a destroyed monastery in Palma, into a 'ruin'. This was imaginative if not authentic. Suddenly in their quest for 'artistic naturalness' the gardens reverted back and looked very much the same as they had during the time of their Arabian predecessors. There is a very successful blend or elegant Italian proportion, English wilderness and the artistic naturalness making this garden a Raixa one of the most spectacular in Spain and well worth a visit when you are on the island. When visiting Raixa you will have access to a guide, published in four languages (Catalan, Spanish, English and German), and will be able to take an independent tour using this guide and a series of explanatory panels throughout the property containing relevant information regarding the property. The Consell of Majorca and the Foundation Biodiversity have carried out the restoration and the cleaning up of the historical gardens, under the criteria of environmental sustainability. Thus, the second phase of this restoration project now begins, the initial phase began in 2003 and its aim was to turn this property into a centre designed to represent environmental, historical, architectonic and anthropological values used within this restoration for its environmental sustainability. In 2008 the restoration of the main building was finished. Now in 2009 the second phase begins, which will include the restoration and the maintenance of the gardens and the agricultural constructions. The property of Raixa, probably of Islamic origin, recognised for the beauty of its gardens and the typical houses of this era was declared of cultural interest in 1993 because of its historical and artistic value. The property is set on a plot of 520,000 square meters, with 4,500 of them being the built constructions, and the rest forming several gardens, and forest zones and areas of culture. |
