Ciutadella in the Balearic Islands

Ciutadella was founded by the Carthaginians and after being governed by the Moors for several centuries, was recaptured during the Reconquista by men serving Alfonso II and became part of the Crown of Aragon. During the Middle Ages, it became an important trading centre.

On 9 July 1558, the Turks under Barbarossa with, a powerful Turkish Armada of 140 ships and 15,000 soldiers, put the town under siege for 8 days then entered and decimated the town where they found it was defended by just a few hundred men.

All of Ciutadella's 3,099 inhabitants were taken to Turkey as slaves together with inhabitants of surrounding villages. In total, 3,452 residents were sold into slavery in the slave markets of Istanbul (Constantinople), Turkey.

In the 17th century, many civil and religious buildings were built in the Italian style and this gives Ciutadella a historical and artistic unity.

Several defence towers are found in the Ciutadella area. The towers were erected to defend the town from attacks by pirates and rebels and to prevent possible invasions. Strategically built, some were situated at the mouth of the harbour to defend the town’s entrance, others were built to allow alarm signals to be sent from one part of the island to another (in good weather, even reaching Majorca). Some others, like the Torre d'en Quart were erected inland and used to warn the farmers working in the fields so that they could help to defend the island against the Moorish pirates.

The old town is worth a visit, and the town hall is the former palace of the Arab governor; it was later a royal palace (Aragonese) and again as a governor's palace until the capital was moved in 1722 to the eastern town of Mahon.

The main square, Plaza d’Es Born is one of the best places to view the harbour. Once used for jousting, the middle of the square is dominated by an obelisk, which commemorates the historic defence of the city in 1558 (when it was besieged by the Moors).

At present Ciutadella of Menorca has a population of approximately 27,000 inhabitants, the majority of whom live in the extensions to the old centre and the rest in one of the many suburbs that border (Calan Blanes, Cales Piques, Cala en Bosc, Santa Galdana, etc).

Although the manufacture of footwear and costume jewellery continues to be an important supply of wealth, tourism has taken over as being the principal source of income for the majority of the inhabitants.

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