SPA> History

History

From the Romans to the 17th century

According to historians, the waters from the spring at Balneario de San Juan de la Font Santa were known and used by the Romans, who founded a large town in the area and although no archaeological evidence has been found to confirm it, it was probably the Romans who named the spring Font Santa.
As tradition has it, the curative properties of the spring were discovered by pure chance. An old legend indicates that there was an epidemic at the time that caused the death of pigs on the island, yet the animals who had been wallowing in the waters on Marquis Palmer’s land did not fall ill, causing people to come from far and wide in search of a cure for the leprosy and scabies that afflicted them.
Old chronicles make reference to a 15th century petition by the Church made to the town elders of Campos for the construction of a chapel dedicated to Saint Sylvester and Saint Columbus, protectors against leprosy, as a monument of gratitude for cures that were obtained. Centuries later the chapel would become dedicated to San Juan de la Font Santa.
Records exist that mention a pool referred to as ‘Las Estacas’ and a dwelling for scabies sufferers attached to the chapel with two stone structures for bathing, one built in 1507 and the other, with gothic letters, dating back to the 13th century.
In 1516 the same elders of Campos decided to build the first rooms and stables to accommodate the many ill travellers who came in search of 'miracle waters'.
Throughout the 16th, 17th and the first half of the 18th century, the chapel went through numerous restorations, adding bathhouses, guesthouses and a well that supplied drinking water, an expansion that demonstrates the reputation that the waters of Font Santa enjoyed in this period.

From the 19th century to today

t was at the beginning of the 19th century, however, that the renowned doctor Juan Andrés Nieto Samaniego studied the water’s chemical characteristics and therapeutic benefits, whose observations were published in a document from 1805 titled, 'Extract of the chemical analysis of the water that makes up the Pool, commonly known as Las Estacas, which is found alongside the Chapel of San Juan de la Villa de Campos, on this island of Majorca' , this being the first scientific study of the spring of San Juan de la Font Santa which insists on the necessity of building a centre to make the most from 'the medicinal properties and virtues of these waters'
The cures which were the result of treatments using the water and the huge influx of people who came to receive them prompted the Balearic council to expropriate the springs from Marquis Palmer along with the land needed to build thermal baths on the site, under the condition that they would be built.
The original building that still exists today was inaugurated in May 1845, and the ‘Las Estacas’ pool was converted to a thermal spring well.
The main building was divided into two sections: the ‘Noble Area’ and ‘Ses Terceras’, small rooms with access to the kitchen, destined for people of modest means. ‘S’Hospital’ was a building dedicated to the poor and impoverished who received the right to accommodation, bathroom and food.
In 1910, the provincial council auctioned the building and surrounding lands that were acquired by Cosme María Oliver in 1916.
The Cosmet family, which the spa currently belongs to, did not carry out refurbishment until 1962. Since then, the rooms and facilities have been improved and refurbished to transform it into a modern thermal spa while managing to maintain its original traditional Majorcan character.