Alcudia

The town of Alcudia is a million miles away from the busy holiday resort of Port d´Alcudia, and offers visitors a real taste of old-town  Mallorca.

This  gem of a place is made up of a maze of narrow streets enclosed by carefully restored medieval ramparts. There were Phoenician and Greek settlements here, but the town reached its heyday in the 2nd century BC, when the Roman invaders made it their capital, Pollentia . Destroyed by Vandals in the 6th century, the town returned to greatness under the Moors, who built Afkudia ('the town on the hill'). The walls you see today were added after the Spanish conquest in the 14th century. You enter the city through one of the two town gatesthe Portal del Moll, with two square towers and two massive palm trees standing guard, is the symbol of Alcudia. The narrow streets of the old town, especially Carrer d'en Serra, are resonant of Palma's Arab quarter.

A short walk from the parish church of Sant Jaume takes you to three interesting sights, connected by sign posted footpaths. Closest to town are the remains of Roman houses at Pollentia, Ciutat Romil; near here are the well-preserved Teatre Romi (Roman amphitheatre) and the Oratori de Santa Anna, one of Mallorca's oldest churches. After exploring the Roman remains, interpret them at the Museu Monogrilfic de Pollentia beside the parish church.