Santuari de Bonany

The medieval convent of Santuari de Bonany is located on top of a mountain of same name, dividing the municipalities of Petra, Vilafranca & Sant Joan. From up here, you can enjoy a blessed panoramic view over the entire es Pla region of Mallorca.

Back in medieval times, this mountain was known as “Puig d’en Burguès” and later “Puig de Maria”, before finally receiving the name of Bonany in the early 1900’s.

Local legends tell, that the Santuari de Bonany was built by the local congregation in the early 1600’s as a tribute to the Virgin Mary, after a statue of her was found on the mountain slopes. At this time, the Santuari de Bonany was mostly used by local farmers, who came here to pray for rain after long periods of droughts.

On your way to the Santuary de Bonany, you will see some impressive stone columns standing next to the road. These columns mark the old pilgrimage path leading to the sanctuary. Each column represent a station of the cross, the Via Crucis, that tells the story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They were made by local stone-cutter, Joan Vives Lliteras.

The construction you see today is actually the second construction of the convent, after a lightning struck the convent back in the 1800’s and destroyed most of the buildings.

Between 1896 and 1990, the convent was inhabited and maintained by the hermits of Sant Pou and Sant Antoni. When the temple was to be rebuilt they added extra rooms for pilgrims to stay as a kind of inn. They also planted the gardens up here, as well as construct the well you see in the courtyard.

In 1915, the last addition was made to the Santuari de Bonany, a small chapel made of stalactites from local cave “Cova d’en Tugores” where they placed a statue of the Virgin Mary.

Needless to say, you will have the most dinive views of Mallorca from the Santuari de Bonany, a place that should be visited!