The great Valencian poet, Vicent Andrés Estellés, wrote this beautiful poem about the terraces that might well be in Banyalbufar.

LXX

 

With my coarse humble words,

I would build a hillside terrace,

far more than a temple, like the ones

I saw one day in Mallorca.

The wisely ordered stones,

solidly organized,

help to prevent the soil,

whipped by sea winds, from eroding.

With a similar assembly of stones,

I would like to preserve a language,

a country, a way of life with my words,

with no one ever knowing my name

just as neither do we know the name of he who builds hillside terraces.

Horacianes, LXX, Les pedres de l'ànfora (Stones from the Amphora), Obra completa, 1974

Translated by Rachel Waters.

(Burjassot, 1924 - València, 1993). A Valencian poet, journalist and writer who is considered to have contributed to the renewal of contemporary Valencian poetry. At a very early age, he became interested in poetry, theatre and literature and educated himself in these subjects. During the Spanish post-war period and his years as a journalism student in Madrid, he published his first articles in the press, together with different poems.

On his return to Valencia, he worked for the newspaper Las Provincias and published his first book, Ciutat a cau d’orella (Whispered City) (1953), followed by Donzell amarg (Bitter Youth) (1958) and L’amant de tota la vida (The Lifelong Lover)(1966). In addition to his poetry, in the 1980s, he wrote autobiographical stories, published a short novel entitled El coixinet (The Little Cushion)(1987) and the play Oratoris del nostre temps (The Oratory of our Time) (1978).

In the 1970s, he published some work written in Mallorca and Barcelona. Some of his favourite themes include people, the land, death, hunger and love. Les pedres de l’àmfora (Stones from the Amphora) is a collection of poems singled out for different prizes, including the Lletra d’Or (1974) and Crítica Serra d’Or (1975).

Banyalbufar nestles amid hillside terraces, framed by the scenery of the Tramuntana mountains. It used to form part of an estate that stretched across almost the entire valley.

From any point whatsoever, it offers views encompassing both the mountains and sea. A short distance from the village, between Banyalbufar and Estellencs, a vantage point known as El Mirador or Torre de ses Ànimes can be found, crowned by a late 16th century defensive tower called Torre des Verger. This formed part of a network of watchtowers along the Mallorcan coast.