HERITAGE
Ibiza provides an excellent example of the interaction between the
marine and coastal ecosystems. With dense prairies of oceanic Posidonia
(seagrass), an important endemic species found only in the Mediterranean
basin, contain and support a diversity of marine life.
Ibiza preserves
considerable evidence of its long history. The archaeological sites at
Sa Caleta (settlement) and Puig des Molins (necropolis) testify to the
important role played by the island in the Mediterranean economy in
protohistory, particularly during the Phoenician-Carthaginian period.
The fortified Upper Town (Dalt Vila) is an outstanding example of
Renaissance military architecture; it had a profound influence on the
development of fortifications in the Spanish settlements of the New
World.
The Upper Town of Ibiza is an excellent example of a fortified
acropolis which preserves in an exceptional way in its walls and in its
urban fabric successive imprints of the earliest Phoenicians settlements
and the Arab and Catalan periods through to the Renaissance bastions.
The long process of building the defensive walls has not destroyed the
street pattern, but has incorporated them in the ultimate phase.
The
intact 16th-century fortifications of Ibiza bear unique witness to the
military architecture and engineering and the aesthetics of the
Renaissance. This Italian-Spanish model was very influential, especially
in the construction and fortification of towns in the New World. The
evolution of Ibiza's shoreline is one of the best examples of the
influence of Posidonia on the interaction of coastal and marine
ecosystems.The Upper Town is the oldest area, which emerges like an acropolis
standing on a headland facing the sea. Its architecture and physiognomy
have not been changed since the fortifications were built in the 16th
century, based on the military precepts of the Renaissance. The
defensive walls and bastions have incorporated those which existed
before, thus making it possible to study the stratigraphy of all
fortifications.