Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The native language, as on the rest of the Balearic Islands, is Catalan, which is co-official with Spanish.
The name derives from Classical Latin insula maior, “larger island”. Later, in Medieval Latin, this became Maiorica, “the larger one”, in comparison to Menorca, “the smaller one”.
The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Balearic Islands have been an autonomous region of Spain since 1983. There are two small islands off the coast of Mallorca: Cabrera (southeast of Palma) and Dragonera (west of Palma).
Like the other Balearic Islands of Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera, the island is an extremely popular holiday destination, particularly for tourists from Germany and the United Kingdom.
These fascinating black and white photos from the Archive of the Sound and Image of Mallorca that documented everyday life of Mallorca in 1956 and 1957.
 |
| Woman refilling at a petrol station, 1956 |
 |
| Woman removing water from a fountain with children, 1956 |
 |
| Cart in Coll de Sóller, 1956 |
 |
| Children looking towards the village of Fornalutx, 1956 |
 |
| Group of dolls on a street in Palma, 1956 |
Leave a Reply