Monastery of La Real de Mallorca
Monastery of Santa Maria d’Esporles / Beate Marie de Regali
Access portal to the monastic enclosure
This is one of the monasteries that were founded in Mallorca after James I conquered the island in 1229, but it was not until 1232 that the monarch fulfilled the promise made to the Abbot of Poblet to take the Cistercian order into account in the distribution of goods on the island. The first Cistercians settled in Esporles, where the monastery of Santa Maria d'Esporles is mentioned as early as 1236.
King James commissioned Count Nunó Sanç to take care of the Cistercian establishment, which became a reality in 1239 with the donation of the place of La Real, located near Palma, as well as other assets. The community moved to the new monastery, built in La Real, a fact that is confirmed by documents in 1266. The monastery would be affiliated to Santa Maria de Poblet and in the future it would maintain a strong link until the mid-16th century. It seems that the new monastery was already in operation in 1240, the date from which documentation of the house has been found. Among the monastery's properties, it is worth mentioning the Miramar farmstead, which in 1276 was the subject of an exchange signed by James II of Majorca, which was offered to the Friars Minor and Ramon Llull was able to found the Miramar college. The initiative was short-lived and in 1300 it returned to the Cistercians.
From 1547 onwards, La Real gradually disassociated itself from Poblet, which until then had taken the major decisions affecting the monastery. The new situation made it possible to undertake reconstruction work on the house, which had suffered the effects of the passage of time. Monastic life continued at La Real until 1835, when the Cistercian community left definitively. Later, religious activity was resumed, and it was handed over to the congregation of Missioners dels Sagrats Cors, which established its headquarters and the founder, Joaquim Rosselló (1833-1909), lived there until his death.
Affiliation of La Real
According to the Originum Cisterciensium (L. Janauschek, 1877)Grandselve Abbey (Tarn-et-Garonne) / 1145
Fontfroide Abbey (Aude) / 1146
Poblet Monastery (Conca de Barberà) / 1151
Monastery of La Real de Mallorca / 1236
Altarpiece of Saint Onuphrius (1601)
Sacristy
Cloister. Image of Ramon Llull
James I the Conqueror, founder
Nunó Sanç, founder
Tympanum
- ALTISENT, Agustí (1974). Història de Poblet. Abadia de Poblet
- JANAUSCHEK, Leopoldus (1877). Originum Cisterciensium. Vol. 1. Viena
- MONESTIR DE LA REAL (1982). El monestir de Santa Maria de la Real. Palma: Monestir de la Real
- MORA, Pau; ANDRINAL, Lorenzo (1993). Diplomatari del monestir de Santa Maria la Real de Mallorca (1361-1386). Barcelona: Fundació Noguera
- REUS PLANELLS, Guillem A. (2017). L'arquitectura religiosa en els antics territoris de la Corona de Mallorca, segles XIII-XIV. Un estudi de paisatge monumental. Tesi doctoral. Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona
- REUS PLANELLS, Guillem A. (2019). La orden del Císter en Mallorca. El monasterio de Santa María de la Real de Palma. Monasterio de Piedra, un legado de 800 años. Saragossa: I. F. Católico
- REUS PLANELLS, Guillem A. (2020). Noves aportacions per a un estudi de l'evolució arquitectònica del monestir cistercenc de Santa Maria de la Real de Mallorca. Medievalia, vol. 23, núm. 2
The monastery of the Real is in the municipality of Palma, to the north of the city and away from the center