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Legends in Inca

Oral tradition is the collection of stories that are passed down by word of mouth from one generation to the next. Within these are myths, legends and folk stories that go back hundreds or thousands of years, usually by anonymous authors and each with versions that may vary significantly.

A legend is a story about natural, supernatural or mixed events, which are passed down from generation to generation, whether orally or in writing. They are usually based on real or hypothetical characters or events, natural clues, religious beliefs and superstitions. These are located in a time and place that are common to members of a community, which gives the story a certain veracity, and even in some cases part of historically accurate situations. In their process of being passed down through oral tradition, parts are sometimes removed, added or modified, thus resulting in the emergence of a whole world full of variants.

With this route, we seek to reveal the stories and legends that surround Inca while discovering part of the history and heritage that is preserved within the City itself.

1. Council

The city of Inca was, as far back as Islamic times, one of the most dynamic and important nuclei of Majorca's Part Forana. Did you know that the name Inca came from the Arabic word Inkan? What do you think it means?

Inca has two well-known legends, one related to the city's coat of arms, and the other related to its reputation as being tight fisted. If you would like to hear about them...

2. Celler de Can Amer

Cellers, are restored buildings where wine was made and stored in large wooden barrels. Did you know that vineyards were Inca's main source of cultivation until they were wiped out in the nineteenth century by the Phylloxera Plague?

Something happened in one of them; half-truth, half-legend, whose protagonist is an Italian, who arrived on the island during the Civil War, and a young ''Inquera'', all trace of whom was lost.

3. Ancient Hospital of Inca

This space, today occupied by 3 buildings from the 20th century, was where the Inca Hospital was built in the 16th century. Inside the building's oratory, there was a Gothic carving of the Holy Christ who, as the legend goes, in September 1607 sweated blood and water.

4. Parish Church of Saint Mary Major

This church was already documented as far back as 1248, on which two more temples were built, one in the 14th century and the other, the current one, in the 18th century.

The central image of the main baroque altarpiece depicts Saint Mary Major, and is the work of Pere de Santjoan (around 1400). This image depicts a legend about her miraculous encounter by two ''Pollensines'' who wanted to take her to Pollença, and her desire to be worshiped in Inca. 

5. Sa Font Vella

In Majorca, there is a legend, closely linked to wells and cisterns, that parents and grandparents told to scare children. 

6. Monastery of Saint Bartholomew

In the cloister is the Hackberry of Sor Clara Andreu where, according to legend, she tied up the donkey when she arrived at the convent; Furthermore, this nun's life has given rise to many other legends. Dare to discover them!

The temple came later with work getting underway in 1667 and was completed a few years later; this date can be seen on the church's façade.

7. Sa Porta del Rei

Majorca is full of places that the town associates with the figure of James I. In many areas, footprints left by King James' horse can be seen on the stones.

In Inca, one of these is preserved, about which there is a legend. If you would like to discover it...

8. Calle Sant Sebastià niche

Did you know that, in 1652, Majorca was struck by a serious plague in which somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 people lost their lives? 

9. Church and Convent of Saint Dominic

Complex consisting of the church, the old convent and the cloister, from the Baroque period, built between 1664 and 1800.

After the exclaustration of the monks, in 1835, the cloister and the conventual dependencies underwent many transformations. 

10. Church of Saint Francis

In 1835, the monks were forced to leave, but they returned in 1909 and settled again in their convent, occupied by the Sisters of Charity until 1915, where they set up a school.

Inside there is an image of Saint Anthony of Padua, from the seventeenth century, which, according to legend, was highly worshiped by unmarried women. If you want to know why...

  • Difficulty: Easy
  • By foot: 3:00 h.
  • By bike: 1:30 h.