MALLORCA


FOR SALE €5.95m


With views across Deià to the sea, this four-bedroom house (left) has been newly built using the best traditional materials. Engel & Völkers (00 34 971 63 63 63)


through the village, which was then largely inhabited by local farmers. From that point on, it became known as something of a magnet for artistic talent looking for a Mediterranean refuge from northern European winters —the light is said to have a clarity that is rarely found elsewhere. Where artists go, money tends to


Bohemian rhapsody


The mountain villages of Mallorca have attracted an arty British following since Robert Graves first put Deià on the map in the 1920s. Arabella Youens follows in his footsteps


F


ROM the yachting enclave of Port d’Andratx in the south-west of Mallorca, the mountains of the Tramun-


tana range rise sharply and dominate the entire of the north-west coastline until they start to fall into foothills around Pollensa, the pretty northern town famous for its 365 Calvary steps. A long and windy road with a series of hairpin bends follows the entire length of the Tramuntana—the high- est peak of which, Puig Major, rises 4,740ft above sea level—and in whose folds lie small villages made up largely of stone-built houses dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. It’s a far cry from the 1960s and


1970s sprawl of buildings along the far more accessible southern coast-


line of the island that flank the capital, Palma, and most package tourists would be oblivious to its existence. In 2011, however, UNESCO designated the entire range as a World Heritage Site for its great physical and cultural significance—a move guaranteeing that, regardless of the improvements made to the infrastructure and access- ibility of the mountain villages over the years and decades to come, they will remain as charmingly under- developed as they are today. Perhaps the most well known of all


these villages is Deià, where the poet Robert Graves made his home in the late 1920s. He invited a colourful mix of writers, painters and the occasional film star to stay with him—the sight of Ava Gardner once sent shockwaves


36 Country Life International, Summer 2015 www.countrylife.co.uk/international


FOR SALE €4.5m


With a dating stone of 1874, this large house within easy reach of Pollensa is perfect for hosting guests as many of the eight bedrooms radiate out from the ground floor with their own access. It stands in just under 10 acres. Engel & Völkers (00 34 971 89 77 00)


follow and, in the case of Deià, a wave of what local selling agent Eddy Barrera of Engel & Völkers describes as ‘new Bohemians’—models, photo- graphers, stylists and musicians— arrived in the 1990s. ‘It was at about the same time that Richard Branson bought the small hotel in the village and did it up. La Residencia was sud- denly a place where film stars and successful entrepreneurs could come and soak up some of the fun energy that overtakes the village during the summer season, but without being bothered by anyone.’ Andrew Lloyd Webber bought a large finca over- looking the village—he’s since bought another two properties to accommo- date any overflow of guests. Deià’s charm is largely rooted in its


low-key identity. Yes, some of the houses—particularly those beneath the road and those above the village— have heart-stopping views over the Medi- terranean, but there are no Michelin- starred restaurants or glitz. Hotels are limited to La Residencia


(now owned by the Belmond group) plus one or two agroturismos and, refreshingly, there are no ‘full board’ establishments. There are a couple of supermarkets and a few bars, the most lively of which is Sa Fonda, where most of the action happens in the summer months when the owners hold open-mike nights.


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