Pitiusas

Here and there a farmhouse stands out, unerringly half-hidden by prickly pears and generally so small like no others I have seen on the island. Where the valley broadens a bit, Sant Joan Church can be found next to the hills that rise up on the north.

Sant Joan is the seat of the municipality of the same name and its town hall, even though it is really just a single parish. In 1860 it only consisted of four inhabited houses and two abandoned ones, all isolated from each other. Sant Joan parish, however, is seen as one of the island’s most important and was its most populated in the past. In 1840, the census reported that it was home to 1,203 souls; in 1850, 1,348, and in 1860, 1,300. The church, found on a platform raised above the valley and reinforced by thick walls, is simple in terms of construction with a bell tower and a porch.

A nearly straight road connects Sant Joan to the city of Ibiza, passing Sant Llorenç, a one-and-a-half-hour walk away. To reach this town, you have to return to the already described road and continue until reaching a streambed surrounded by oleanders, descending down the streambed which empties into the so-called Labritja valley, one of the island’s most important. It is followed by the Santa Eulària valley, separated from the former by only a few slight hills and traversed throughout its length by the river named after the latter town and its tributaries. The hills which frame Labritja valley are not very big though beautifully shaped with the sides covered in pine trees or carob, olive and fig trees.

The generally wooded hills on the western side become increasing flat as they near Sant Llorenç. Three old rounded towers crown the height where the church dedicated to this Saint can be found. Further on, atop a hill covered by forest, we see a fourth tower.

Sant Llorenç parish is included within the Sant Joan de Labritja municipality and is scarcely populated. It consisted of 769 souls in 1840, 858 in 1850 and 945 in 1860.

Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria. Las Baleares por la palabra y el grabado. Primera parte: Las Antiguas Pitiusas. Ed. Sa Nostra, Caja de Baleares. Palma de Mallorca. 1982