Menorca, enjoys the gentle climate of its setting in the centre of Mare Nostrum. This location also enables rapid connections by air with European capital cities. Distances are not great, which makes it easy for visitors to see the whole island, and admire its landscapes, the wide range of monuments, and enjoy its cultural attractions..

Geographical facts of interest

- Area: 716 km2
- Coastline: 285.7 km
- Highest point: 357 m (Monte Toro)
- Average annual temperature: 17.6ºC
- Average annual hours of sunshine: 2,811.1

island, including a very special type, confirm this: the taula (table), gigantic T's, which still arouse impassioned debate over their meaning. The megalithic tombs, the long caves, and the naviform dwellings are from the pretalayotic era, while the taules, settlement walls, and necropolises with caves dug into the rocks were created in the talayotic. The final part of this stage shows significant influence from Punic culture.

In 123 B.C. Quintus Caecilius Metellus landed on Menorca, taking the precaution of cladding his ships in leather armour to avoid damage by stones shot by the island's slingers. Menorca became known as Balearis Minor or Minorica, while Maghen (Maó), turned into Mago, or Municipium Flavianum Magontanum in full. The small town of Sanisera (Sanitja), mentioned by Pliny, in the northern part of the island, and Jamma (Ciutadella) were also Roman settlements. The mark left by the Romans may be seen in the pavements, mosaics, inscriptions, figurines, coins, and open-air burial niches cut

In 902, along with the rest of the archipelago, Menorca was peacefully incorporated into the Caliphate of Cordoba, under the name Menurka, and what is now Ciutadella, where the almojarife or governor resided, became Medina Menurka. From the 350 years of Moorish presence, Menorca preserves the remains of the cliff top castle of Santa Agueda and numerous place-names (those beginning with Bini - and Al -), as well as the bell tower of Ciutadella cathedral, formerly the minaret of the mosque. In 1232 the almojarife became a tributary of Jaume I the Conqueror, who had subjugated Mallorca in 1229.

Alfonso III, firstborn son of Pedro III, vowed to avenge this treachery, and organized an expedition to conquer Menorca and annex it to the kingdom of Aragon. In January 1287, the Christian troops entered Medina Menurka, and so Menorca celebrates the Day of the Menorquin People every January 17th.

hands several times with the disembarkation of British and Dutch troops under the pretext of holding Menorca for the Pretender to the Spanish throne, archduke Carlos of Austria. The occupation was ratified in 1713 by the Treaty of Utrecht and the first British domination of Menorca began. There were three stages of British rule: 1708-1756, 1763-1781, and 1798-1802, interrupted by the French (1756-1763) and the Spanish (1782-1798).

In 1802 Menorca finally returned to Spain by the Treaty of Amiens and its history joined that of the mother country. The policy of the Republican and Conservatives parties alternately holding power began in 1874. Unlike Mallorca, Menorca stayed Republican during the Civil War (1936-1939). In 1979 the Consell Insular de Menorca was constituted, bringing about the recovery of the island's former institutions, integrated in the Comunitat Autònoma de les Illes Balears.

GASTRONOMY

It is their inheritance from the medieval cuisine, both Islamic and Catalan, and inspired by the French, that is primarily responsible for the recipes that have made Menorca famous all over the world.

Menorca invented mayonnaise, and has skilfully adapted many elements from other countries, making them its own.
This diversity is expressed in a multiplicity of fish, seafood, and meat dishes: creations as diverse as cuscussó, a Christmas dessert of Arab origin, British puddings, or the intelligent combination of sweet and savoury we can enjoy in sobrassada and mild cheese with rosemary honey, and the oliaigua amb figues, symbol of popular cuisine.

Other specialties include caldereta de llagosta (lobster stew), reason enough by itself to visit island restaurants; Mahónes cheese, protected by its own denominación de origen; and the local gin, aromatic and sharp-scented.

In addition to the famous sauce, there are other specialities, most notably the caldereta de langosta (lobster which is also cooked with herbs), an excellent dish with a delicious broth which should be sampled in Fornells, a village in the north of the Island.

Worthy of special mention among the fish and shellfish dishes are the cold fish pies and puddings (a legacy of the English), the caldera, the perol of baked cuttlefish, squid stuffed with potato and sweet potato and oven-baked fish in the Menorcan style.

Fish and seafood are prepared in many different ways: braised, baked with potatoes and tomatoes, sautéed with garlic, grilled, fried. Among the noteworthy molluscs are the famous escopinyes (clams), mussels, date mussels, peus de cabrit (goose barnacles), and corns, cornets, (murex) and snails, ideal as appetizers or entrées. Among crustaceans, the most appreciated is lobster, base of the famous stew.

Menorcan beef is a guarantee of the flavour and quality of any dish:

Pork sausages (sobrassades, botifarró blanc, botifarró negre, carn i xua, cuixot, etc.) make fine entrées or snacks.

Another of the most characteristic local products is gin, a gin made with the alcohol from grape wine, instead of that from cereals, and aromatised with juniper berries. Traditionally, gin is drunk as an

aperitif or simply with lemonade, a mixture known locally as pomada, and a very popular drink during the celebrations of the Sant Joan fiestas in Ciutadella (23 and 24 June).

In addition to gin, Menorcan fruit liqueurs are excellent aids to digestion as a result of the quality of the raw materials used in their preparation.

Since 1985, Menorcan cheese has boasted the denominacion de origen "Queso Mahón," controlled by a Regulatory Counsel. It comes in mild, cured, semi-cured, and aged varieties, according to its ripeness.

Its confectionery and pastries make Menorca a paradise for the sweet-toothed, greixeres, formatjade, chocolate with ensaimades, bunyols with syrup, and tortades, and cuscussó. Menorca's honey enjoys great renown, and its rich Italian-influenced ice-creams go perfectly with its

cakes and pastries.

RAFTS AND TRADITIONS

Menorca's 1784 census records twenty-one silversmiths. The island's gold and silversmithery took off in the nineteenth century with the workshops that made silver purses, a tradition which has given rise to a costume jewellery industry with

a considerable craft tradition, creating limited-edition pieces in all sorts of materials and combinations. They can be found in the bazaars in Ciutadella harbour and Calasfons (Es Castell)..

Menorca's modern footwear industry, which thrives on exports of a large part of its production to numerous countries, had its origins in nineteenth century family workshops. Its products can be purchased directly from factories in Alaior, Ciutadella, and Ferreries, where they offer the latest models from Menorcan designers, fruit of technique, tradition, and modernity. In addition to such quality footwear, in the street markets you can find albarques, the typical Menorcan peasant shoe.

Ceramic-ware, shoes, jewellery and silverware, leather goods, wickerwork, embossed paper, and printed fabrics are some of the alternatives that the craft-workers of Menorca offer visitors today. With all this and more, there are open-air markets on the Born in Ciutadella (Fridays and Saturdays) and on the Explanada in Maó (Wednesdays and Thursdays). In summer, markets are set up in the evenings on the Baixada de Capllonch in Ciutadella harbour and on the Baixada de Calasfons in Es Castell.

The Saturday morning market in Ferreries and Ciutadella offers agricultural products such as rosemary honey, cheese, jams and preserves, and fruits and vegetables picked only hours before.

Description of Ciutadella:

CIUTADELLA DE MENORCA

Located in the island's westernmost point, the municipality of Ciutadella is Menorca's largest. The municipality borders on the municipality of Ferreries to the east and with the sea to the west, north and south.

Some of the island's most beautiful untouched beaches can be found on the Migjorn coast and the stretch from Cap Gros to Cala del Pilar on the Tramuntana coast are part of the North Menorca Marina Reserve.

In addition to the special ecological value of its marine floor, Ciutadella boasts a wealth of interesting flora and fauna. Almost a third of the municipal surface area has been declared a nature area of special interest.

Strolling through the streets of medieval Ciutadella, enjoying the examples of religious and civil architecture, including the Gothic cathedral and numerous elegant manor homes, and visiting the port, the centre of nightlife, are some of the many possibilities the city can boast of.

Among the palaces, the arched streets and the port, on 23rd and 24th June Ciutadella focuses on its traditions and celebrates, just like every year, the festival of Sant Joan.

It is a very intense few days when traditionally dressed drummers riding horses beat out the rhythms of the Jaleo (the local music).

We would like to take the opportunity of inviting our guests to enjoy, along with the local people, one.of our traditional festivals.