Arta

The foundation of the town is linked to the arrival of monks who founded the priory of Santa Maria de Bellpuig ,during the Christian reconquest. Until the fifteenth century, the village was called "Almudaina" and the name of Arta designated the whole territorial district.

Between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, the population increased considerably. Agricultural activities were predominant although there was also a considerable development of textile activities.

The 1820 the village of Arta suffered the ravages caused by the bubonic plague, which made more than 1,200 victims. The segregation of Capdepera and Son Servera took place in the nineteenth century. The term Arta still stands for agrarian large landownership, in which the large landowners had the majority of the land in the municipality.

At the end of the century, the manufacturing of palmetto became important, wherefore mainly female labour was used, which provided an indispensable complement to the sustenance of many farming families .

In 1880 the division of land in the north-western area of the estate of ”Ferrutx "gave rise to the population group called “Colonia de Sant Pere”. It was an agricultural colony, which, throughout the twentieth century, has acquired a touristic functionality without losing its traditional personality.

In 1921 the railway, which connects Arta with Manacor,was inaugurated, and from the sixties on,

the economy of the municipality became diversified , due to the explosion of tourism.

Arta is located in the sierras of the Levante which stretch out in parallel to the east coast in the north-easterly,south-westerly direction and whose natural foothills is formed by islands of the archipelago of Cabrera. The highest elevation is reached in the north, in the municipality of Freda de Son Morei (561 m), a mountain top which forms a small peninsula.

Arta is bounded in the East by Capdepera, in the South by Son Servera and San Lorenzo de Cardessar, in the West by Petra and Santa Margarita and in the North by the Mediterranean sea and the Bay of Alcudia.

The population is agricultural and touristic. There are plantations of fruit trees (almonds, oranges, lemons, nisperos, etc) , vineyards and olive groves. There are also places of palm craft.

The archaeological remains show that human occupation of Arta started in the pre-talayotic era, although the majority of sites that can be visited today stem from the megalithic Talayotic era ( the settlement of “Ses Paisses”, “talaiot de sa Canova ", etc.). Without doubt, the Romans also left traces, and, during the Muslim period, the peninsula of Arta (Yartan), was one of the thirteen districts in which the island of Mallorca was divided. This district includes also the current municipalities of Capdepera and Son Servera.

By remaining almost fully unaffected by the impact of tourism, Arta and its inhabitants have been able to preserve its festive traditions ( fiestas de Sant Antoni with his demons and bonfires), as well as their crafts (Mallorcan embroidery , palm crafts) and their gastronomy (panades, robiols, sobrasada) .

Being located in the heart of a large valley , Arta is dominated by the fortress of San Salvador and its Gothic church. In its ancient centre are the residences of the former owners of large estates in the municipality.