Gaspar Bennàzar was the municipal architect of Palma (among other posts) from 1901 to 1933. He died at the age of 63. During this period, in his official post, which he shared with Jaume Alenyà, or in his private office, he built the image of the Palma we see today. He was responsible for completing Pla Calvet, which removed the Renaissance walls so as to open up the city to progress. In those years, progress was about sweeping away the old to make way for the new. Le Corbusier proposed it for Paris and Gaspar Bennàzar proposed it for Palma.

However, Bennàzar was busy giving the city a majestic, elegant and refined feel, in keeping with the promise of the new century, with the hallmark of Majorca in the materials from the island itself that he used in his works. In 1996, Palma City Council named him as the son of the city and an avenue was named after him. However, he is still a largely unknown figure to most of us walking around Palma. Despite this, it is impossible to think of Palma without Gaspar Bennàzar. His works form part of the urban landscape everywhere in the city.

Thus, this notebook attempts to bring together his work from the surprised gaze of the chronicler in all of us.

Author: Liliana Boffi

Co-edited with Institut d’Estudi Baleàrics

Language: Catalan

Number of pages: 72 four inks

Enquadernation: hardback

Dimensions: 170 x 225 mm

Publication date: 05/2018

ISBN: 978-84-96199-06-4

DL: PM 760-2018