Petra

The name sounds Latin, but Petra was not founded as a Roman town.

People lived in the area long before then. Around forty archaeological sites are recorded in the municipality, including caves and the talayots of Son Omar and Termenor. Roman grave goods, pottery and coins have been found, but these are finds rather than evidence of a town. Under Islamic rule, the area belonged to Yitnau-Bitra, with scattered farms known as alqueries and rafals.

The village itself was planned. Following Jaume II’s ordinances for new rural towns around 1300, Petra was laid out as a grid of right-angled streets for around a hundred settlers, with allocated farmland and infrastructure.

Today’s straight lanes therefore follow a plan from around 1300 rather than the winding pattern of a settlement that grew gradually.

Miquel Josep Serra was born here on 24 November 1713, into a farming family. He studied at Sant Bernardí friary, a few lanes away, took religious vows at sixteen and adopted the name Juníper. His progress in Latin, philosophy and theology led to further study in Palma.

As a Franciscan he travelled to Mexico, then California, where he established Spanish missions from 1769, personally founding nine. The mission network became associated with cities including San Diego, San Francisco and Santa Bárbara, though not every mission was founded by Serra himself. He died in California in 1784 and was canonised by Pope Francis in 2015.

A connection becomes clearer here: the Californian missions bear names of saints venerated at Sant Bernardí. Familiar names from his village travelled halfway around the world.

His birthplace on Carrer Barracar Alt, the village’s oldest street, is a low farmhouse with a few rooms, a hearth, a bed and an old wine cellar. You can walk through it in four minutes.

That small scale is what stays with me: such a modest home, set against the far-reaching history of its former occupant.

Next door is the museum, opened in 1959, with household objects, personal belongings and maps of the missions. Along Carrer de Fra Juníper Serra, tile panels on both sides depict the missions he founded.

Sant Bernardí friary completes the visit and is worth seeing for its cloister alone.

The controversy over Serra’s treatment of California’s Indigenous population, and over his canonisation in 2015, is part of this history and is not hidden here.

A few kilometres outside Petra, this hilltop pilgrimage church has broad views across the Pla. Serra gave his last Mallorcan sermon here before leaving for the Americas. The road up is narrow but driveable.

Petra’s centre is protected as a Conjunt Historicoartístic, a historic ensemble, with cobbled streets and continuous sandstone façades. Talayotic sites lie in the surrounding fields.

In March, April and May, Petra is a major meeting place for road cyclists in the Pla. Routes lead towards Sineu, Manacor and Ariany, or up to Bonany.

At lunchtime, central terraces are often full and bicycles line the walls. For a quieter meal, arrive before one or after three — or join the cyclists and pick up a few route tips.

March and October are good choices. Almonds blossom in February, while September brings the grape harvest.

The small Wednesday market serves local needs rather than attracting the visitor crowds of Sineu, which is part of its appeal.

In July and August, the streets are deserted between two and five in the afternoon.