Catedral de Santa Maria

The Catedral de Santa Maria sits at the highest point of Dalt Vila, its heavy, crenellated bell tower looming over the white limestone walls of the old town. It occupies the site of a former mosque, which replaced a Roman temple dedicated to Mercury. When the Catalans captured the island in twelve thirty-five, they demolished the mosque to build this fortress-like church. Its thick, defensive walls still bear the scars of centuries of pirate raids and the shifting powers of the Mediterranean.