Cala d'Or

Cala d'Or is a town belonging to the municipality of Santañí, in the southeastern part of Mallorca. Annexed to this town are the smaller towns of Cala Ferrera and Cala Serena, and a little further away are Porto Petro, Calonge and s'Horta. It is the largest population center and the largest tourist center in the municipality. Cala d'Or is one of the oldest coastal tourist developments in Mallorca, built around 1933 by the Ibizan developer José "Pep" Costa Ferrer (1876-1971), in whose honor the main town square is dedicated. Costa acquired the land between Cala Gran and Cala Llonga, divided them into numerous lots and initially invited his friends to establish his summer residence there. Consequently, the first inhabitants were artists and gallery owners, such as Olegario Junyent, set designer at the Gran Teatro del Liceo in Barcelona, Ramón Balet, film producer, Natacha Rambova, Rodolfo Valentino's ex-wife, as well as the painters Anglada Camarasa, Domingo Carles and Sebastián Junyer. They were later joined by other artists, including the novelist Bernhard Kellermann and the Belgian architect and painter Médard Verburgh, who in 1935 opened the first hotel in the area, called "Hotel Cala d'Or", which is currently the third largest hotel still in operation. From its beginnings it was intended to reproduce a landscape architecture with all the white houses and flat roofs with typical Balearic stone walls, garden areas around the houses, in the image of the founder's native island, something that continues to be preserved until today and it is mandated by municipal ordinance.

The core of Cala d'Or is divided into three well-differentiated neighborhoods: The center of Cala d'Or, located in the central part, as its name suggests, includes the beaches of Cala Gran and Cala Petita (or Cala d'Or cove). In it is the main pedestrian and commercial area, the basic health unit (or UBS Cala d'Or, which also provides emergency service in tourist season), the area of the Cala d'Or marina called Port Petit, the "CEIP Santa María del Mar" public school, the Civil Guard service post, the church, the Post Office, the library, the civic center, the tourist office, the soccer field, the sports center, the nursery school and the "Adagio" music school. Among the main streets, we can highlight the Avenida Bienvenidos, Calle Tagomago, Avenida de Calonge, Plaza Costa, the beginning of Avenida de la Virgen de la Consolación, Avenida Fernando Tarragó, Calle Ariel and Plaza Ibiza.

The neighborhood of Cala Ferrera islocated between the Rambla del Ravell and the nucleus of Cala Ferrera. It includes the neighborhoods of Punta Grossa and El Ravell (or Els Ravells), as well as the beach of Cala Esmeralda. It is home to the main hotel and leisure area, and the headquarters of the association for the elderly. Among the main streets are s'Espalmador street, Punta Grossa avenue, the end of Virgen de la Consolación avenue, Cala Ferrera avenue and Playa de Oro avenue.

And the neighborhood of Cala Egos, located between the southernmost part of the marina, is an area called Porto Carí, and the beginning of the Porto Petro nucleus. It includes the neighborhoods of Paque de Mar (or Parc de Mar), El Fortín (or es Fortí), Sa Punta d'es Port, and Marina de Cala d'Or, as well as the beaches of Cala Egos and Caló d'es Pou . In this neighborhood you will find El Fortín monument, the natural swimming pool of Cala Egos, the offices of the Santañí Local Police in Cala d'Or, the municipal swimming pool "Marcus Cooper Walz", and the tennis courts. Among its streets, the Ronda del Puerto, Avenida de Ses Roquises, Avenida de la Marina and Avenida del Fortín stand out. In recent years it has become the main urban expansion area of the town.