Take a look at the far-off world of the Phoenicians at the new Sa Caleta Visitor Centre, an interesting exhibition area set up in some old military facilities built in 1940. This summer, Ibiza provides another window on its history, going back thousands of years.
Only a few minutes’ walk from Es Bol Nou beach, this new Visitor Centre highlights the value of the Phoenician site of Sa Caleta, the first settlement of this people on the island, where they are estimated to have lived between the late 8th century BC and early 7th century BC. The archaeological remains here are so important that the UNESCO included this site in its declaration of Ibiza as World Heritage, together with the Dalt Vila quarter, the Puig des Molins Necropolis and the posidonia oceanica meadow stretching between the southern coast of Ibiza and Formentera.
Sa Caleta and Phoenician Ibiza
As we already mentioned in our article about the Phoenician stamp on Ibiza, this was the first spot inhabited by the Phoenicians, who chose the island as one of their trade bases in the Mediterranean Sea. It is believed that they stayed in Sa Caleta alone for about 50 years before moving to what we now know as the city of Ibiza, but they left many remains behind, which were later discovered during a dig at the site in the 80s and 90s.
Their use of salt, the way they manufactured and traded purple dye, their excellent metalwork, their knowledge of the sea, the jewellery they wore, the vegetables and fruit they ate... This new museum in Sa Caleta shows us the Phoenicians’ everyday life, their trades, tools and other details of their life in Ibiza and the Mediterranean Sea through a series of information boards, a re-creation of a Phoenician house and other virtual recreations you can watch through QR codes and an app available in different languages.
Sa Caleta Visitor Centre: a look at 1940
The Sa Caleta Visitor Centre also offers us the chance to visit two anti-aircraft batteries. Built in 1940, in the wake of the Spanish Civil War, these batteries were built to defend the air and sea space around the future military airport planned at the time, which was meant to be built on the spot where Ibiza’s airport is now.
This museum also shows the sentry box, trenches and machine gun nests as well as the barracks that are now home to the Visitor Centre, all this built by a prisoners of war battalion, who is also introduced at the centre. A showcase of the defence politics and mindset that prevailed in the early 40s in Spain, after the Civil War and the war raging in Europe at the time.
Centre of the Nature Reserve of Ses Salines of Ibiza and Formentera. Pic: santjosep.net
All the visitor centres in Ibiza
On the way to a beach or during a drive around the island, you’re bound to find the chance to stop and visit the different visitor centres in Ibiza. Thanks to these museums, you can fully immerse into the landscape and culture of Ibiza and truly value the heritage passed on from one generation to another.
Visitor Centre of the Nature Reserve of Ses Salines of Ibiza and Formentera
On the road to the beaches of Ses Salines and Es Cavallet, this centre shows you the ethnographic and environmental value of the salt flats and their environment.
Es Amunts Visitor Centre
In Sant Llorenç de Balàfia, this visitor centre shows us the environmental, geographical and cultural value of the mountain area known as Es Amunts, which stretches across the north-east of the island. The best way to start a hike in the area.
Visitor Centres of Sa Capelleta and Madina Yabisa
In the city of Ibiza, these two centres show us the different cultures that inhabited this area. The Sa Capelleta centre shows traces of the Phoenician, Roman and Arab peoples, whereas the Madina Yabisa Visitor Centre, in Dalt Vila, provides a look into Muslim Ibiza through a fantastic audiovisual model.
Visitor Centre of Río Can Planetes
This visit reveals the typical elements of Ibiza’s architecture and the important role of water mills in the history of the village of Santa Eulària. You can see how the mill and the traditional irrigation system used to work and also take a self-guided tour of the river route (Ruta del Río), which is a pleasant 3km walk that starts opposite the town hall of Santa Eulària and goes past Ses Planetes and other interesting sights in the village, like the church of Puig des Molins and the Ethnographic Museum of Ibiza, in Can Ros, a hundred-year-old house.
Visitor Centre of Río Can Planetes. Pic: visitsantaeulalia.com
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