Thanks to his long stay in Mallorca, the French traveler and ethnographer Gaston Vuiller published up to two books on the subject: in 1888 he published Voyage aux Îles Baléares, and in 1893, Les îles oubliées.
Cardinal Despuig added the cardinal’s purple, the Order of Carlos III of Spain whose grand cross he was awarded, and the Patriarch of Antioch to the family coat of arms. In Italy, where excavations were being carried out by the Scottish painter Hamilton, he bought a temple from him which Domitian had dedicated to Egeria and he took over Hamilton’s excavation work. From 1767 to 1787, he was fortunate to discover most of the magnificent sculptures that can be found in today’s museum.
It is at Raixa farmstead where I also saw the famous nautical map on which George Sand was accused of having knocked over an inkwell; it is framed, protected by glass and hanging on the wall.
Les îles oubliées. Les Baléares, la Corse et la Sardaigne: impressions de voyage illustrées par l’auteur, 1893
Translated by Rachel Waters.
(Perpinyà, 1845 - Gimel-les-Cascades, Corresa, 1915). A French illustrator, traveller and ethnographer, Gaston Vuillier collaborated with some of the 19th century’s most prestigious illustrated magazines, such as Le Tour du Monde, Le Magasin pittoresque, or Le Monde illustré, as well as writing travel books accompanied by interesting illustrations of the places that he visited.
He was fascinated by the countries of the Mediterranean and published books about Sicily, Tunisia, Corsica and Sardinia, although he felt a special affection for the Balearic Islands. In 1888, he published Voyage aux Îles Baléares and in 1893 Las îles oubliées. In the latter, in his description of Mediterranean islands, references are made to some of the archipelago’s emblematic events and places from the point of view of a late 19th century traveller. A few years later, he published two more travel books: La Sicile and La Tunisie.
During his long stay in Mallorca, he visited Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria several times and a certain friendship was struck up between them. The novel by Jean-Louis Sarthou, L'archiduc sans frontière (Editions du Vieux Caroubier, 2013), deals in depth with this cordial relationship.
Cardinal Antoni Despuig y Dameto (Palma, 1745 - Lucca, 1815) is responsible for the Mallorcan estate house Raixa’s resemblance to an Italian villa. In the renovations, planned in the late 18th century, that were made to the large country estate house, special mention must be made of its delightful gardens, with classical reminiscences, where plants, water and sculptures play a fundamental role. Despite the renovations, the estate continued to be financially productive, mainly through farming. Raixa was also the place where the Cardinal kept his large collection of classical sculptures. Because he wished his legacy to remain in Mallorca, today his collection can be seen at Bellver Castle.
