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Sant Joan is the least populated municipality of the island. Its 4,500 inhabitants live in houses scattered throughout the countryside, especially in Sant Llorenç and Sant Miquel, which are the richest agricultural areas.
The north of the island stands out for its wild natural landscapes. The spectacular cliffs have been declared a Natural Area of Special Interest because flora and fauna of major ecological value survive in these ecosystems.
Large areas isolated from the crowds still exist in Sant Joan, where the nature lover can enjoy the challenge of seeking out remote and almost virgin beaches. As a matter of fact, there are only two tourist centres of any size in the whole area: Port de Sant Miquel and Portinatx.
The building of a church is the clearest sign of the development of a village on Ibiza, and Sant Joan is no exception. At the beginning of the 18th century Antoni Marí was the largest landowner in the densely wooded district of Sant Joan. 'Milà', as he was known, conscious that the area needed more people, realised that the best way to attract them was to build a chapel, and so he did.
Some years later, the archbishop of Tarragona planned to build a new church at Balàfia, but he finally chose the area of Sant Joan because at the beginning of the 18th c., in the vicinity of Cala de Sant Vicent at least, there was a more numerous established population. But the inhabitants of Sant Joan refused to consider another church, separate from Antoni Marí's small chapel, so the new temple was finally constructed attached to it, even though the authorities had wanted to locate it nearer to where people actually lived.
This new church dedicated to Saint John the Baptist was finished in 1770, and in 1785 it was made a parish church. The Ibicencan priest and historian Joan Marí Cardona, related that for many years a special prayer was said thanking the founder of the parish church of Sant Joan, on this unusual site surrounded only by tree-clad hills at that time.
The second major event in the development of Sant Joan ( known also as Balansat) was its designation as a municipality following the 1812 Constitution, which granted this title to all population centres with more than 1,000 inhabitants. The Town Council dates from that same time, when Sant Joan was one of the island's most populous parishes. It is known that in 1885 there were 12 houses around the church itself, plus the town hall and the police headquarters. Paradoxically, nowadays it is the municipality with fewest inhabitants.
In those days Sant Joan was also renowned all over the island as having the largest number of sweet-water springs, among them that of the valley of Benirrás. The honey of this municipality is also considered to be the best on Ibiza.
The two most emblematic buildings are in the centre of the village: the small town hall and the church. On your visit to Sant Joan don't forget to visit the Estanco, Can Vidal. It is the village's most traditional shop and they sell almost anything: from notebooks to the best hierbas ibicencas in the municipality.
If you want to participate in a traditional fiesta, remember that the Pou de Labritja attracts hundreds of people on the Sunday before Santa Maria (August 5th). In a festive family atmosphere you can get to know the traditions of the municipality better, including the home-made gastronomic specialities and the folk dances (baile payés). These ancestral Ibicencan dances used to form part of all celebrations and they also provided a perfect opportunity for courtship.
Starting in Sant Joan an old path used to be the only way of getting to Sant Miquel until the roads were built. It took half an hour to walk from one place to the other, the same amount of time that was needed to get from Sant Joan to Sant Llorenç. |
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Sant Joan
