Can Fontirroig

Can Fontirroig stands in Palma’s old town, where a garden shelters the remains of an Islamic-era hammam, or Arab bath. The surviving structure dates to the early twelfth century, during Almoravid rule over Mallorca. Its quiet setting contrasts with Madinah Mayurqa, the substantial Islamic city that once filled Palma with homes, bakeries, gardens, and workshops.

The hammam opens through a horseshoe-arched portal and centres on a square room built for hot bathing. Twelve columns support connecting horseshoe arches beneath a dome pierced by small skylights. A later chamber has a barrel vault, while the cold-bath area has disappeared over time. Water shaped daily life here, serving hygiene and social gatherings while networks of wells, fountains, and channels supplied baths, mosques, and gardens.

La Font de la Vila, a major fountain built in the early tenth century, still supplies Palma with water. Together with the nearby Arab Baths, this preserved core offers one of Palma’s few surviving glimpses of Islamic architecture.