HERITAGE
F I N C A M O R N E TA THE I DEAL S ETTING FOR A ME M OR AB L E E XP E R IE NC E
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etween the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the term possessió (which means manor house in English) was coined to name the houses and estates of Islamic origin which were known, up until then, as farmhouses. These unique buildings surrounded by land are spread across the island, and there are some 1,300 different styles. After the Catalan conquest of Mallorca, the nobles who participated in it split the Islamic farmhouses and used them for primary sector activities purposes, since it was the main source of wealth on the island at the time. The part destined to live in was divided into multiple rooms, and the senyors (the owners), the master (the senyor’s right hand) and the peasants, who were in charge of any sort of manual labour on the farm, lived there. Some produced oil, others had wineries, and many extracted their own coal. All of them, of course, grew Mediterranean vegetables and fruits and were dedicated to livestock and forestry. Unsurprisingly, each of the possessions has its peculiarities, both in terms of architecture and history. One of these iconic buildings is Morneta, located on the outskirts of the village of Binissalem. Full of history, Morneta dates from the thirteenth century and comprises a 2000 m² garden and a 1000 m² building. The building, which has been recently renovated to adapt to the modern world, preserves the original materials it was built with as well as other peculiar artefacts such as a tafona from 1729 in which olive oil was made, a celler from the sixteenth century and a well from the seventeenth century. In 1953, the great-grandfather of the current owner purchased Morneta as a wedding gift for his daughter and, ever since then, the possessió has belonged to the Morell Vivó family. Nicolas Morell and Lucia Doglio, the current owners, moved from the Philippines to Mallorca to run the estate, which certainly is a place full of family memories for Morell. There are many proposals to turn Morneta into a space that houses multidisciplinary projects: from a gastronomic space based on local products and a farm school enabling spaces for artistic creation and rural accommodation. All the ideas of this young couple have two firm purposes in common: to create synergies between the projects and to regenerate life, create unique experiences and encourage connection among people, Morneta and their natural environment. So, let the story continue. www.morneta.es
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