12. Can Ribera Street and Jaume III: the first serious "esventramentos" of the twentieth century.

©Text i fotos: Àngel Gené i Ramis; traducció a l'anglès: Montserrat Casanovas i Stobart; suport informàtic: Martí Gené i Ramis

First, we have to explain what "Esventramento" means. It is the destruction of blocks of houses in a urban environment, usually to draw a new street.

Around the 1930s, Gustavo Giovannoni declared himself against the destruction of houses and he laid the ground for the future assessing of the Palma monuments such as the historical winding streets. However, the City Hall of Palma undertook some repairs in 1950 aimed to improve the Gothic Catalan part of the city.

Giovannoni's proposals were accepted by the Unesco, European Community, etc.. One of these reforms was the new street of Jaime III, which ignored the medieval design and the surrounding streets, blocking them with its houses.
Can Ribera shows the former beauty of the old city and evidences the ugly scheme of Jaume III.