Traditionally Palma wanted to give a prehistoric origins, which archeology has not been corroborated. The truth is that the city was officially founded by the Romans as 123 BC, at the hands of the Roman general Quintus Caecilius Metellus. The San Roque street and the street of the General Survey were the old shafts and decumanus thistle city and its intersection were the forum, the nerve center of the Roman city. Therefore, this area corresponds to the current first city Almudaina neighborhood, which was fortified. It retains a door of this wall: the Almudaina street. The period between the V and IX is known by historians as the dark ages. However, from this period have documented the arrival of a Jewish community in Mallorca, Palma remained so over successive periods in the history of the city. In 902 the Balearic Islands were incorporated into the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba. At first Andalusian society occupied the Roman city, which now took the name of Madina Mayurqa.In the tenth century the city was equipped with a hydraulic network from the channeling of water from a source (the source of the Villa), six kilometers from the city walls. Also built a palace inside the Almudaina.

A significant population increase, prompting the growth of the city beyond the Roman walls. For this reason, in the early eleventh century ran an ambitious project that widened considerably around the city and a new wall. This new city corresponds to what is now called Old Town. In 1114 came the Pisan raid that destroyed much of the city. However, Medina Mayurqa rebuilt until in 1229 the troops of King James I conquered Mallorca.

The conquest of the island by the king of Aragon means a before and after in the history of Mallorca and, by extension, of the Balearic Islands. It is from 1229, with the creation of the Kingdom of Majorca, when the foundations of the current Mallorcan society: religion, culture, institutions, customs, language ... Medina Mayurqa renamed the city of Mallorca. In 1249 the island was organized from a large town called college. The executive authorities of the new government were called jurors. Already in the fourteenth century, the jurors enjoyed an advisory council that eventually became the Great and General Council.

During the Middle Ages and the modern age Mallorca city grew slowly within their own walls. The assault on the Jewish quarter of 1391, the harassment of farmers during the Revolt of 1450 foreign and 1521 Germania, in which farmers and artisans were made with the power of the Kingdom, are the most notable warlike events, which can be add specific episodes of clashes between different factions-what we now call clan struggles. 

In 1715 the troops of Philip V Bourbon entered the city, the jurors who had declared in favor of the Archduke Charles. This caused the adoption of Decree of Nueva Planta, under which civil institutions disappeared since 1229 had created the Kingdom of Mallorca. It will recover the ancient name of Palma, which replaced the city of Mallorca. Administratively the city was organized from Castilian model. It created the city of Palma, which inherited the house of the Jury and the Great and General Council, with its furniture, of which especially the picture gallery of the illustrious sons of Mallorca.

During the French War (1804-1814) scenario Mallorca was not any battlefield, however this does not mean that live outside. Palma became a refuge for many Spaniards. The city was filled with people from all walks Despite this sudden increase in population, continued to grow intramural Palma. Just as Santa Catalina suburbs or extended Molinar sheepishly. Not until 1900 that approved the Plan Calvet Palma urbanism, from which the city widened far beyond its defensive walls. In 1902 he began the demolition of the walls, which began to widen the city, a process that dramatically interrupted only during the unhappy years of the Civil War. By the early fifties of last century developed the tourism industry hard and became the first engine of the island economy.

When the late seventies recovers the democratic system in Spain, Palma and tourist capital is undergoing a process of modernization and re-produce significant urban growth that has stretched to almost the first decade of the century.


Main Sights of Plama de Malorca

Plaça de Espanya : The Plaça de Espanya is the transport hub of Palma. The Estació Intermodal caters for buses and trains (the latter controlled by TIB). The two old buildings home to the tourist information and several cafés sit either side of the two large escalators which lead into the Estació, which interestingly enough sits underneath a large and popular park. On the lawns are several glass boxes, which let in light and ventilation to the station below ground. There are also train-themed playing structures, each one shaped like a train carriage and named after towns along the line of the Ferrocarril de Sóller, a railway dating back to 1911 which has its Palma Station right next to the park. Just down the street from here a new bus station is under construction.

The Cathedral Area : Palma is famous for La Seu, its vast cathedral originally built on a previous mosque. Although construction began in 1229, it did not finish until 1601 and local architect Antoni Gaudí was drafted in during a restoration project in 1901. The Parc de la Mar (Park of the Sea) lies just south overlooked by the great building which sits above it on the city stone foundations. Between these two are the town walls. Here there is a vast blue and yellow canopy strung over a lower area, shading rows of wooden benches.

The Old City : The Old City (in the south-east area of Palma behind the Cathedral) is a fascinating maze of streets clearly hinting towards an Arab past. With the exception of a few streets and squares which allow traffic and are more populated with tourists most of the time, the walkways of this city quarter are fairly narrow, quiet streets, surrounded by a diverse range of interesting buildings, the architecture of which can easily be compared with those in streets of cities such as Florence (Italy), for example. The majority are private houses, some of which are open to the public as discreet museums or galleries. The tall structures, characteristic window boxes, detailed metal carvings and overhanging eaves of these buildings make a stark contrast with the view of the bay that is obtained by stepping out of the shady alleyways next to the cathedral and onto the old city walls. The Old City is also home to the Ajuntament (or Town Hall), the Convent of the Cathedral and the Banys Àrabs.

The Banys Àrabs, or Arab Baths, one of the few remnants of Palmas Moorish past, are accessed via the quiet Can Serra street near the Convent of the Cathedral, and include the lush gardens of Can Fontirroig, home to Sardinian warblers, house sparrows, cacti, palm trees, and a wide range of flowers and ferns. The small two-roomed brick building that once housed the bath is in fact of Byzantine origin, dating back to the 11th century and possibly once part of the home of a Muslim nobleman. The bath room has a cupola with five oculi which let in dazzling light. The twelve columns holding up the small room were pillaged from an earlier Roman construction. The floor over the hypocaust has been worn away by people standing in the centre, mainly to photograph the entrance and the garden beyond it. The whole room is in a rather disreputable condition. The other room is a brick cube with a small model of the baths as they once were in the corner. Unfortunately one of the columns in this model has fallen over.

Rubbish containers : Rather more modern additions to the old parts of the city are the attractive and discreet bronze rubbish collecting bins. They operate under the simple method of putting one refuse into the cylinder at the top of the machine and turning a handle which then revolves the cylinder, tipping it into the lower area of the bin.

Sports : Football is the most important sport on the island, led by the Segunda División football league team Real Mallorca with its stadium placed at Palma (Iberostar Stadium). Segunda División B team CD Atlético Baleares also play in Palma and Real Mallorca B. Because of its island condition all the sea sports have also a big presence in Palma. Maybe the most important event is the Trofeo Ciutat de Palma.
Road cycling is very popular in Mallorca, with many enthusiasts from northern European countries coming to enjoy the relatively pleasant weather in winter and spring, as well as the opportunity to tackle several fine mountain climbs in the north of the island. An international race for professional cyclists, the Vuelta a Mallorca, is held in February, the first day of which consists of a circuit race around the streets of Palma. Palma was the host of the tennis event Battle of Surfaces.
Transport

• Palma de Mallorca Metro
• Majorca rail network
• Palma de Mallorca Airport
• The city bus system, which includes a loop line through the historic centre, is run by the EMT (See external link below).
• There is also a bus system run by the TIB. This includes routes to and from the municipalities Calvià and Palma.