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Aprt from its merely maritime character, Formentera also has
strong ties to its sparse earht. The local farmers experienced
great difficulty due to the limestone soil with which they have to
work, struggling hard to extract a bare living from the land, and
these hardships are reflected in the parmanent exhibition in the
insland´s Ethnological Museum.
Almost every example of the ancient rural tools, as well as some
splendid folklore instruments, are on show in this Museum.
Definitely a visit to the Museum, with full information given by
the guide, as well as the opportunity to watch an exhibition of
folklorem, together with a gastronomic treat, is a most attractive
proposition.
Geography
Formentera has a
mild climate and a distinctive and interesting geography with dune
areas and Mediterranean vegetation, pine and juniper woods, as
well as a conifer that gives the island personality.
Ondoubtdly, however, the curious visitor will be mostly impressed
by the way in which the islanders have adapted to the harshness of
the island. The stone walls, the magnificent traditional
architecture or the fig trees forming real sculptures in the
middle of the island´s fields are the subjects of countless
photographs.
Formentera lies to the south of Ibiza. It is the smallest of the
Illes Balears, and its port, La Savina, is only twelve nautical
miles from the port of Ibiza to which it is linked by ferries (70
minute journey) and fast launches (25 minutes).
Geographical facts of interest:
- Area: 83,2 km2
- Coastline: 69 km
- Highest point: 192 m (La Mola)
- Average annual temperature: 18.6ºC
- Average annual hours of sunshine: 2,883.1
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History
Formentera, a borderland, has had an eventful history and its fate has almost always been linked to that of Eivissa. Man´s presence on the island goes back at least 4.000 years. The Can Blai encampment, nearby Es Caló, remains as the most important exponent of the Roman occupation. After domination by the Arabs, Eivissa and Formentera were conquered by Cataln troops in 1235. Emigration to distant lands was a significant feature until the middle of the 20th century wheb tourism radically changed the economy and the life of the Formentera people. The hippies decisively contributed towards the fame of Formentera and associated the island with a different kind of tourism. With the plocamation of the Statute of Autonomy (home rules) in 1983, Catalan, in its insular form, was established as en official language together with Spanish, and the institutions of self government: Govern de les Illes Balears the Parlament, and the Consell Insular were returned.
Even today the origins of Formentera´s folklore are largely unknown. Although the Arab influence (particularly in the singing) is obvious, there are many nuances which throw some doubt on this hypothesis. The symbology of the dances is particularly interesting, as well as the unusual instruments used, which are hand crafted from wholly native materials.
The costumes are spectacular, especially the women´s party dress, with its priceless gold "prendada", in contrast to the sombre black simplicity of the workday clothes.
The discovery of the megalithic tomb at Ca na Costa, in 1974,
provided evidence of the presence of man in the Pitiusas in the
Bronze Age. Dated at around 1600 B.C., this funerary monument
meant Formentera's "arrival" in prehistory. Ca na Costa,
together with other remains from the period, attests to the
presence of human communities almost four millennia ago.
Since the times of the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, Formentera's
history has paralleled that of its neighbour Ibiza. Its Phoenician
and Roman remains are less extensive than in Ibiza, however, the
Roman camp at Can Blai, at kilometre stone 10 on the main road, is
the most interesting. There is unequivocal evidence that the
island was populated in antiquity. The Greek historian Strabon,
for example, confirms this at the beginning of our era, and is the
first to refer to Formentera, as Ophiusa, in his "Geography".
Other authors of ancient times speak of the Pitiusas as "islands
of pines".
Espalmador, an islet between Ibiza and Formentera, was an
important port of transit in antiquity, given its strategic
location on western Mediterranean trade routes.
The period of scant historical knowledge that opens with the
Vandal and Byzantine invasions of the Illes Balears in the fifth
and sixth centuries ends with the documentation of the Moorish
presence, as confirmed by tombstones dating from the first years
of the second millennium A.D. When the Catalan troops of Guillem
de Montgrí conquered the Pitiusas in 1235, Formentera was still
inhabited by Saracens, as recalled by the Llibre dels Feyts. The
attempt to establish a permanent population on Formentera failed;
the harsh conditions on the island and the insecurity caused by
Berber incursions brought an end, towards the end of the
fourteenth century, to what is called the first repopulation.
Three centuries had to pass before the people of Ibiza decided, in
1697, to repopulate Formentera. They began by erecting the
fortified church of Sant Francesc Xavier, which gives its name to
the island's principal town, and which offered safety to the
people of Formentera for decades. Defence and watchtowers along
the coast completed the security network and made the second
repopulation definitive.
Around the middle of the eighteenth century Formentera's
population was four hundred, at the end of the previous century
nearly two thousand
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