From line Palma-Inca-Manacor/ Inca-sa Pobla

Binissalem Station

The old road from Binissalem to Alaró Leave Binissalem station in a north-westerly direction along the made-up road known as Can Arabí. Almost immediately, you will go past a turning towards Blanquers. Further on, after passing ses Parellades, you will come to a crossroads with the road to es Raiguer, where there is a rock in which it is said you can still see the marks left by one of the hooves of King Jaume I "the Conqueror's" horse. Take the left hand turning towards es Raiguer as far as Cas Capità Moranta, where you can see some interesting decorated roof tiles.

Go past Cas Cabrit and turn right into the camí de Bànyols, also known as the old road from Binissalem to Alaró. The road will take you over a very old cobbled section, perhaps originally Roman: this is called s'Empedrat and is a very beautiful piece of road. After this stretch of road you next pass through an area with thick vegetation. You then come to a cross roads, where there is a gateway and the road to Can Moranta on the right. The lane slopes gradually downhill with a gradual bend to the left. You walk through almond and olive groves towards Bànyols. After passing a shaded area for livestock, you can see the two storey manor house of Bànyols with a great arched gateway, topped by the coat of arms of the Puigdorfila family and another three small rounded arches above.

From Bànyols you continue towards the left and soon afterwards, you turn right into the made up road of Son Fortesa. The road then curves round to the left and is crossed by another smaller lane. Another ten minutes' walk and the manor house of Son Fortesa comes into view on your right. Its two storey main façade with its arched gateway stands at the end of an avenue of Southern nettle-trees, cypresses and plane trees. Over the gateway is the coat of arms of the family Safortesa. After going past the house you will come to the road from Alaró to Lloseta; if you turn left you will soon reach Alaró. If you wish to return to Binissalem, the best way is to go back the same wav as you came.

Inca Station
The town of Inca

Inca is one of the biggest towns in Majorca, and is famous for its leather and shoe industries. Religious architecture is one of the town's main features.

The original church of Santa Maria d'Inca was built (1248) soon after the conquest of Majorca. Nevertheless, the present church of Santa Maria la Major (18th century) is the third to be built on the same site. Inside there is a Gothic work of art, painted by Joan Daurer in 1373.

Santa Maria la Major d'Inca is a good example of the Baroque churches of the island

The monastery of Sant Bartomeu, where the cloistered nuns of the Order of St. Geronimo have been in residence since 1534, also has medieval origins, but the present church dates from the 17th century. The main entrance is a great arched gateway that leads into a courtyard in the centre of which is a very special tree, a Southern nettle-tree: el lledoner de la Venerable. The church has two entrances from the courtyard, both situated under a porch. The monastery has a museum that exhibits some good examples of Gothic and Renaissance painting.

The Franciscans settled in Inca in the 14th century, but their old Gothic church was pulled down at the end of the 18th century so that the present cloisters and church of Sant Francesc could be built. The old convent of Sant Domingo dates back to the start of the 17th century when the church was built, and subsequently the cloister. It was confiscated in 1835, and much later, in 1962, the church became the local parish church.
As to civil architecture, several seigniorial houses, with Gothic foundations but Baroque alterations, still exist, such as Can Siquier and Can Ripio. One important local feature are the cellers, where wine used to be made and then kept in great wooden barrels. Wine used to be Inca's main product until a plague of phylloxera towards the end of the 19th century caused its substitution for other produce, especially the almond. Industrialisation and the arrival of the railway (1875) contributed to the growth of the town.

In the first third of the 20th century, Inca became a much more beautiful place with the construction of new buildings, the design of which followed contemporary architectural trends: Modernism (Can Fluxà, Can Mir, Ca n'Amengual) and Rationalism (Café Mercantil, antiga botiga de Ca s'Hereu). Other buildings were inspired by older fashions and adopted historicist styles (antiguo Hotel Domingo, Can Alzina, la Rectoria, sa Quartera).

Sa Pobla Station
The town of Sa Pobla

The parish church of Sant Antoni de sa Pobla has as its precursor the oratory dedicated to Santa Margalida in Crestatx. On the foundation of the town, then called sa Pobla d'Huialfàs, an oratory was built on the site of the present church, and it became the parish church in 1357. In 1696 construction of the new church began. The façade is a flat wall devoid of all decoration, divided into three sections. The main door has a curved baroque pediment.

The bell tower was built next to the sanctuary on the "Evangelio", Gospel, side (to the left of the altar as seen from the nave); it is square and is 28.3 metres high. It has four storeys; the two highest have two ogival windows on each side. The doorway to the bell tower is a pointed arch and dates back to 1596. The side door of the church is Baroque with a curved pediment. The interior consists of one nave with a gallery for the choir. The ceiling is a ribbed vault, with seven chapels on each side. Over each chapel, there is a gallery. The presbytery has a barrel vaulted ceiling in one part but is circular in shape in the other. The main retable has in pride of place a figure of the saint the church is dedicated to, Sant Antoni.

Crestatx is thought to have been the original centre of sa Pobla

In the upper part of the retable there is a chapel with a figure of Santa Margalida, patron saint of Sa Pobla. To the left of the presbytery, there is a picture of la Mare de Déu d'Huialfàs, a sacred virgin from the early 16th century. Of the chapels on the right of the nave, the first, under the gallery of the church is especially interesting as it used to be the Baptismal chapel. It contains a small liturgical museum, and exhibits some ancient relics. The fourth chapel is the capilla fonda or del Roser. It has a domed ceiling and is Baroque in style, dating from 1744. Of the chapels on the left, the first is of special interest; dedicated to Santa Anna, it has a Gothic figure of la Mare de Déu de l'Esperança. The chapel of Sant Crist or les Ànimes, the third on the left, is Mannerist in style. The organ, built by the brothers Sebastià and Damià Caimari in 1690, is situated in the fifth chapel. The sacristy, to the left of the presbytery, is square shaped and its ceiling has spiral ribbed vaulting, with a relief of Sant Antoni at the apex.

The Town hall is situated between two squares: the Plaza Major and the Plaza de la Constitución. It was built between 1812 and 1823. The design is attributed to Joan Sureda Villalonga. The ground floor was almost certainly designed as a granary, the first floor as the council offices and the second floor as the town prison. It was refurbished between 1987 and 1990 under the direction of architect Antoni Pérez Villegas.

Sineu Station
The town of Sineu

The parish church of Santa Maria de Sineu, was built in Gothic style, at the beginning of the 16th century and was enlarged in 1880. Its main door has an ogival arch, and the side door is Baroque, dating from 1783. The church is in the shape of a Latin cross, and its ceiling is Gothic ribbed vaulting with a neo-Gothic dome with an octagonal base. In the interior there are still fragments of the old main retable (1571 - 1581) crafted by G. Gener, Baroque retables of la Mare de Déu del Roser (1672) and Sant Martí (end of 16th century). A Gothic carving by G. Mòger (1509) of Santa Maria de Sineu presides over the presbytery. The Gothic bell tower is separate and was built of seven storeys, with a chapel dedicated to Santa Bárbara. The Rectoria is near the side door of the parish church, opposite the Plaça de Sant Marc, (where there is a monument to the Evangelist's lion). There is a collection of medieval pottery in the Rectoria.
What is now the convent of the cloistered nuns of the Immaculate Conception was at the beginning of the 14th century a palace belonging to King Jaume II. The old palace was donated to the community of nuns of the Immaculate Conception by King Phillip II of Spain in 1583. The only parts of the convent that are open to the public are the hall and the church, which dates from the 17th century with a figure of the Immaculate Virgin, by G. Gener, and a baroque retable of Santa Teresa (18th century).

The old convent and the church of Jesús-Maria, which once was used by Minimalist friars, was built in the 18th century and now houses Sineu town hall.

Sineu Town Hall, formerly a convent of Minimalist friars, was built in the 18th century

The church, built between 1793 and 1812, has just one nave with side chapels and a classicist main retable, dominated by a figure of Sant Francesc de Paula. The cloisters of the old convent are quite remarkable.

The Hospital of Sineu appears in records dated 1240. The oratory of the Hospital was originally dedicated to Sant Jordi, and later to Sant Josep. It has a ribbed vault ceiling and boasts figures of Sant Crist de la Sang and of Sant Josep, as well as a Renaissance painting of the Roser. The Hospital which is still run as a hospice has a regionalist façade dating from 1921.

Manacor Station.
The town of Manacor

The cloisters of the Convent of Sant Vicenç Ferrer, Baroque in style, house various municipal offices

The Dominican friars' convent of Sant Vicenç Ferrer was founded in 1576. The church was finished at the beginning of the 17th century. The porch on the main façade displays a figure of Sant Vicenç Ferrer. Over the entrance there is a large window, the result of reforms in 1907. Several sculptures dominated by the figure of Sant Domingo crown the façade. The bell tower was built up against the left hand wall of the church and is finished off by a triangular section.

The interior of the church has just one nave with five side chapels and a gallery. The ceiling is of ribbed vaulting. The main retable is Baroque, and dates from the second half of the 17th century, when it was begun by Joan A. Oms. The Roser chapel, the third on the right, is the most worthy of note; it was completed in 1692 and restored in 1954; its ceiling is divided into four sections, the third of which is a dome over shells decorated with vases filled with flowers. Ever since its confiscation in 1835, the old convent has been used as municipal offices. The town hall was refurbished in 1927, in accordance with plans by the architect, Forteza. The construction of the cloisters, which are to the left of the church, was started in 1617 in the Baroque style. They were built to a square plan with a double gallery of segmental arches supported by octagonal pillars, decorated with spiral fluting. The municipal library is in the left wing. In front of the main face of the church is the cross of Sant Vicenç Ferrer, which was put up in 1488 to commemorate the sermon the Saint gave in Manacor in 1413; it was restored in 1913.

The parish church of Mare de Déu dels Dolors figures in records dating from 1232 and 1248. The present building dates from the years 1891 - 1932, and was designed by the architect J. Barceló in the neo-Gothic style. The main façade, which remains unfinished, has a mullion porch with a French arch. Above the entrance, there is a blind ogival arcade. There is a great rose window in the upper part. The bell tower consists of various storeys and is topped by a great pinnacle. It was designed by Gaspar Bennassar in 1905.

The tower of the Palau Reial is next to the church of dels Dolors: it is the last remaining part of the old residence of the Kings of Mallorca. Its construction was ordered by Jaume II in the 14th century. The tower has a square base, is three storeys high and is crenellated at the top.

The Torre de ses Puntes is a fortified medieval house, dating from the 15th century. Its name refers to the fact that it too was crenellated. Other features of note are the round arched gateway and two pairs of twin windows. It was restored in 1985 and is now an exhibition centre.