living mallorca

Not far from our recent trip to every Majorcan’s favourite cafe (Can Joan de s’Aigo), we do not need to go very far as our next destination is just around the corner, literally. The impressive courtyard of Cas Marquès de Vivot is on Carrer de Can Savellà, 4, which is parallel to Can Joan de s’Aigo’s Carrer de Sans. It is a magical place, a stately mansion which offers those passing by a view into its impressive courtyard, dating back to the early XVIII century.

There are over 40 stately mansions with grand courtyards in the old town and they are so beautiful they even inspired Jules Verne, which used them as the setting for his book “Clovis Dardentor”. Some of them are currently home to public institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Spanish Art or the Palau March, as well as the High Court of Justice or the Hospital de Sant Pere i Sant Bernat. Others remain private, such as Can Oleza or Can Sureda, and can only be seen through the entrance gate (except from the festivity of the Corpus Christi, when they open their doors to the public). Watch out for what is going on in the city as they sometimes offer classical music concerts inside these courtyards. What a venue!

Cas Marquès de Vivot is one of them. It hides a bit of history too, as the conspiracy by King Philip’s followers in favour of the Bourbons during the War of Succession was planned in this house. Its courtyards served as a model for many other later patios in the city of Palma.