Category: Crafts and trades

Dry stone walls in Mallorca: the art of building in the Serra de Tramuntana
Crafts and trades

Dry stone walls in Mallorca: the art of building in the Serra de Tramuntana

Discover the dry stone walls of Mallorca, one of the most distinctive features of the island’s landscape and traditional heritage. Learn how the ancient dry stone technique, using carefully placed stones without mortar, transformed the steep slopes of the Serra de Tramuntana into fertile terraces and shaped Mallorca’s countryside. Explore the history of these remarkable walls and discover why they remain an essential part of the island’s UNESCO-listed cultural landscape.

Antiguos oficios en Búger
Crafts and trades

Traditional trades of Mallorca: the artisans of Búger

Discover the traditional trades of Mallorca and step back into a time when skilled craftsmen were essential to everyday life on the island. Explore the fascinating history of Búger’s old crafts, from the spoon makers who carved wooden cutlery by hand to the picarolers who crafted traditional cowbells for livestock. Learn about their tools, techniques and closely guarded secrets, and discover a disappearing part of Mallorca’s cultural and artisanal heritage.

Construcc
Crafts and trades

Building with marés: the stone that shaped Mallorca

Marés stone is much more than a traditional building material: this distinctive Mallorcan sandstone has shaped the island’s architecture, landscape and heritage for centuries. Quarried across Mallorca and used to build houses, churches, walls and some of its most iconic monuments, marés can be seen in Palma Cathedral, La Lonja and Bellver Castle. Discover the fascinating history of marés stone, how it was traditionally quarried and the skilled craft of the trencadors de marés who helped shape Mallorca’s architectural identity.

Mestres d'aixa - ship's carpenters
Crafts and trades

Mestres d’aixa: Mallorca’s shipwrights

The mestres d’aixa are Mallorca’s traditional shipwrights, skilled craftsmen who built wooden boats by hand for centuries. From the iconic llaüt fishing boats to elegant sailing vessels, their craft is deeply rooted in the island’s maritime heritage. Discover the history of the mestres d’aixa, how these traditional wooden boats were made and why this remarkable Mallorcan craft remains an important part of the island’s cultural heritage.

Summer calls for... ice cream
Crafts and trades

How ice cream was made in Mallorca 200 years ago

How was ice cream made in Mallorca before refrigerators and freezers existed? Long before modern technology, making ice cream on the island was a remarkable process involving snow from the Serra de Tramuntana and the work of the nevaters, who collected and stored it through the winter. Discover the fascinating history behind traditional ice cream in Mallorca, from the centuries-old methods used to produce ice to the local ingredients that helped shape this much-loved Mallorcan tradition.