PALMA, the chief town of the Spanish province of Baleares, the residence of a captain general, a bishop’s see, and a flourishing seaport, is situated 135 miles from Barcelona, on the south west coast of Majorca, at the head of the fine Bay of Palma, which stretches inland for about 10 miles between Capes Cala Figuera and Regana. It is the meeting place of all the highways in the island, and the terminus of the railway which (opened in 1875) runs to Inca and (1879) Manacor, and will be extended to Alcudia. The ramparts, which enclose the city on all sides except towards the port (where they were thrown down in 1872), have a circuit of a little more than 4 miles. Though begun in 1562, after the plans of Georgio Fretin, they were not finished till 1836. Palma has undergone considerable change since 1860; streets have been widened and houses built in the ordinary modern style, and the fine old-world Moorish character of the place has suffered accordingly. The more conspicuous buildings are the cathedral, the exchange, the palace, now occupied by the captain-general and the law courts, the general hospital (1456), the town-house (end of the 16th century), the picture gallery, and the college. At the time of the partial suppression in 1835 there were twenty-five monastic buildings in Palma; none of those still extant are of much note. The church of San Francisco is interesting for the tomb of Raymond Lully, a native of Palma. The cathedral, a fine Gothic building with massive buttresses, crowns the summit of the hill on which the city stands. It was erected and dedicated to the Virgin in terms of a vow made by King Jayme as he sailed to the conquest of Majorca, but, though commenced in 1230, it was not finished till 1601. The older and more interesting portions are the ...royal chapel (1232), with the tomb (1779) of Jayme II., and the south front with the doorway known as del mirador (1389). The principal dimensions of the edifice are— length from the door to the high altar, 347 feet; width, including the chapels, 190 feet; height of the central nave, 147 feet; height of the side naves, 78 feet; and height of the belfry tower, 166. Of the architecture of the exchange (lonja'), a Gothic building begun in 1426, the people of Palma are particularly proud, as it excited the admiration of the emperor Charles V. The columns of the windows, in black and grey marble, are of almost unexampled slimness. The harbour (formed by a mole constructed to a length of 387 yards in the 14th century and afterwards extended to more than 650 yards), has been greatly improved and enlarged since 1875 by dredging operations and a further addition to the mole of 136 yards. Previously it was not accessible to vessels drawing more than 18 feet, and men-of-war and large merchant steamers were obliged to anchor in the bay, which is sometimes rendered dangerous by violent storms. Porto Pi, about 2 miles from the city, was once a good harbour, but is now fit only for small craft. Shoemaking, tanning, and ropespinning are prosecuted on a very extensive scale; and direct commerce is carried on with Valencia, Barcelona, Algeria, Marseilles, Cuba, Porto Rico, &c. Many of the Majorcan vessels used to be Palma-built, but the increase of steam navigation has changed the character of the trade. The population of the ayuntamiento, 53,019 in 1860, was 58,224 in 1877. There is a considerable number of Christian Jews (Chuetas) who were formerly confined to their own quarter.
Palma probably owes, if not its existence, at least its name (symbolized on the Roman coins by a palm branch), to Metellus Balearicus, who in 123 b.c. settled three thousand Roman and Spanish colonists cn the island. The bishopric dates only from the 14th century, its foundation having been strongly opposed by the bishop of Barcelona. About a mile south-west of Palma is the castle of Bellver, where Jovellanos and Arago were imprisoned.
PALMA, distinguished since 1861 as Palma Campania, a city of Italy, in the province of Caserta, 4∣ miles south of Nola. The population was 5858 in 1881.
PALMA, distinguished since 1861 as Palma di Monte-chiaro, a city of Italy, in the province of Girgenti, Sicily, 13 miles S.E. of Girgenti. Though situated some distance inland, it has a port of considerable value to the coasting trade. The exports are wine, dried fruits, soda, and sulphur. Hodierna, the mathematician (1597-1660), was a priest at Palma patronized by the duke of Palma. The population, 13,458 in 1871, was 11,702 in 1881.
PALMA, one of the Canary Islands (q.υ.).
PALMA, Jacopo, a painter of the Venetian school, was born at Serinalta near Bergamo, towards 1480, and is said to have died at the age of forty-eight, or towards 1528. He is currently named Palma Vecchio (Old Palma) to distinguish him from Palma Giovane, his grandnephew, a much inferior painter. About the facts of his life little is known. He is reputed to have been a companion and competitor of Lorenzo Lotto, and to some extent a pupil of Titian, after arriving in Venice early in the 16th century; he may also have been the master of Bonifazio. His earlier works are in the older manner, and betray the influence of the Bellini; but, modifying his style from the study of Giorgione and Titian, Palma took high rank among those painters of the distinctively Venetian type who remain a little below the leading masters. For richness and suffusion of colour he is hardly to be surpassed; but neither in invention, strength of character, nor vigorous draughtsmanship does he attain any peculiar excellence. His finish is great, his draperies ample, his flesh golden-hued. He painted many fine portraits. A face frequently seen in his pictures is that of his daughter Violante, of whom Titian was more or less enamoured. Two works by Palma are more particularly celebrated. The first is a composition of six paintings in the Venetian church of S. Maria Formosa, with St Barbara in the centre, under the dead Christ, and to right and left Sts Dominic, Sebastian, John Baptist, and Anthony. The second work is in the Dresden Gallery, representing three sisters seated in the open air (presumably the painter’s daughters); it is frequently named The Three Graces. Other leading examples are—the Last Supper, in S. Maria Mater Domini; a Madonna, in the church of S. Stefano in Vicenza; the Epiphany, in the Brera of Milan; the Holy Family, with a young shepherd adoring, in the Louvre; St Stephen and other Saints, Christ and the Widow of Nain, and the Assumption of the Virgin, in the Accademia of Venice; and Christ at Emmaus, in the Pitti Gallery. Palma’s grand nephew, Palma Giovane, was also named Jacopo (1∙544 to about 1626). His works, which are extremely numerous in Venice, and many of them on a vast scale, belong to the decline of Venetian art.
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