Visitors to La Lonja
in Palma can’t fail
to build such slender columns to support the
an NGO in 2003 called Artifex. Today, Artifex is
to be impressed by the interior of this former
vaults. You have to really know the limits of your
based in what would once have been a grand
merchants’ exchange. The slender spiral pillars
stone.”
villa, overlooking Palma, where Miquel currently
soar to fuse with the ribs of its lofty vaulted
has three apprentices – not one of them from
ceiling and look barely strong enough to support
Mallorca. Over the years he’s run courses for
the roof’s weight. For master stonemason Miquel Ramis, La Lonja is “the most exciting Gothic building in existence.” Miquel describes Guillerm Sagrera’s building as the 15th-century equivalent of El Corte Inglés or
“We live in a world where young people live in a world of immediacy and want everything now.”
Harrods, where merchants traded exotic goods
students from different countries, including groups from Change Agents UK, the British charity offering environmental education for a sustainable future. “The self-appointed job of transferring my knowledge to the next generation is getting
from distant countries. Mallorca’s strategic
difficult,” Miquel says. “We live in a world where
Mediterranean position made Palma wealthy.
Miquel Ramis is a man who does.
young people live in a world of immediacy
It had a population of 100,000 – compared to
He’s a third-generation member of a family of
and want everything now.” Even having learnt
Barcelona’s 40,000. Today Palma has one of the
stoneworkers, but previously worked in the
stonemasonry, it takes many months’ practice to
largest medieval quarters in Europe, but many
hotel and tourism sector for 15 years. Looking
work at the pace of a maestro to earn a realistic
of its old stone-walled buildings have been
for something more meaningful, he searched
hourly rate.
covered with mortar.
his soul and returned to his family roots – and stone. “To my astonishment, all the people like
He still hopes for future students: “It’s what
“Our master stonemasons were some of the
my father had disappeared. They were retired.
keeps me going. I’m 59 now but would like to
best,” Miquel says and then laughs. “I am
The chain of transmission of knowledge was
find more before I’m 64 or 67. Then I’ll just make
boasting, because I am mallorquín, but I have
broken.” Rural dwellers of his father’s generation
sculptures and things like that.”
proof.” It’s in the form of a column’s thickness to
would have had several craft skills, but these
height ratio. Miquel explains that columns in all
have since died out. “We’ve lost connection with
As well as teaching his apprentices and
Gothic cathedrals in Europe have the ratio 1:10 or
our heritage.”
researching
1:15. The columns in La Seu – Palma’s Cathedral
the
roots
and
history
of
stonemasonry, Miquel undertakes restoration
– are built in the ratio of 1:17; La Lonja’s are 1:25.
He started a project to recover and teach
work on important buildings and sculptures
“Only the best master stonemasons would dare
the traditional craft of stonemasonry, setting up
in Palma and elsewhere in Mallorca. He has
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