Palma Mallorca by Color Kinetics
Construction of the Cathedral of Mallorca started in the 13th century and ended in the 1630s. The Cathedral is in the Mediterranean Gothic tradition, but over the centuries, it has incorporated the cultural forms of the modern and contemporary periods.
The history of the Cathedral is intimately linked to the local monarchy. After the conquest of Madina Mayurqa in 1229, James I, who was king of Aragon and count of Barcelona, ordered the consecration of the former great mosque to the Virgin Mary as a site for Christian worship and the building of a new church in the style of that time, using part of the site of the old mosque.
The project for new lighting was first mooted some ten years ago. It has been a long process that has required consultation with the Cathedral management, the Bishopric, the Council of Mallorca’s heritage department, the Arca Heritage Association, the commission for Palma’s Historical Center, and Spain’s National Heritage.
The lighting system involves 505 Color Kinetics projectors around the Cathedral and Palace; 298 of these are embedded. The others are on terraces, flying buttresses, and roofs, and in Ses Voltes and on the Dalt Murada. Although there are more lighting points, the power has been reduced from 87 to 52 kilowatts, a saving in consumption of close to 40%.
