Pont d’Inca: brimming with history
Pont d’Inca may seem somewhat unremarkable at first glance. But as so often is the case, it’s worth looking behind the scenes. Just about five kilometres from Palma, Pont d’Inca is home to not one but two of the best-known companies on the island – as well as Majorca’s oldest airport!
Real Estate Mallorca – Pont d’Inca
Trademark almond blossom
The most famous perfume factory on the island has been here for more than 80 years, producing the almond blossom scent “Flor d’Ametler”. It’s the scent of Majorca. A true classic, made in limited quantities from hand-picked almond blossoms. And this fragrant eau de toilette has a very special feature – each bottle contains a real, delicate almond blossom.
The essence of the island
Whenever the buds open in February and much of Majorca turns into a sea of pink and white blossoms, it’s time to harvest the flowers. The exact formulation of the floral fragrance is a well-guarded family secret, but this much is known: the entire process, from picking the flowers to selling the perfume, takes three to five years! Would you like to see it for yourself? Well, you can satisfy that curiosity, because it’s possible to visit the Rover company by appointment (always provided that the circumstances allow). Either way, this almond blossom perfume is a very typical souvenir from Majorca – literally, the essence of the island.
Centuries-old tradition
Pont d’Inca’s other flagship company, Bodegas Suau, has a 170-year history and is housed in a listed building. Instead of wine in potbellied wooden barrels, the cellar stores brandy. Bodegas Suau is actually a distillery! The high-proof spirit (it’s 37 per cent alcohol by volume) has been distilled here in the municipality of Marratxí since 1851 from the grapes of the white wine variety Airén. Visitors are also welcome at Bodegas Suau. And tasting is included!
Brandy distillery with museum
The distillery even has a small museum. Stills, tanks, instruments and machines from the year dot reflect the long history of production, along with bottles displaying labels from a bygone era. In the meantime, the company has not focused exclusively on brandy. It also produces gin, rum – and orange liqueur made from the best fruit to be had on the island, which comes from the orange grove valley in Sóller. And here’s another detail you may find interesting: the exclusive range of products includes 100-year-old brandies, which you can buy by the barrel for a princely sum.
A bird’s-eye view of Majorca
In Pont d’Inca, you can also take to the air if you like – from Son Bonet airfield, called Aeródromo de Son Bonet. From here, for example, you can get private helicopter sightseeing flights over the island. If you want to go all-out chic and glamorous, you can even book a trip with lunch, where you touch down right by the restaurant! Another service on offer is an aerial excursion to a vineyard. By the way, Son Bonet is the Majorcan airport where the first tourists to the island landed. The airfield has been in existence since 1916 and Son Bonet operated as the official airport of Majorca from 1927 up until 1960, when Son Sant Juan Airport opened up.
Very well connected
Pont d’Inca itself has an old village centre containing the church of San Alonso Rodríguez, which dates back to the 19th century. A weekly market is held every Friday morning on the square in front of the church. The locality has around 18,500 inhabitants and really good transport connections, with bus and rail links as well as motorway access. As such, it’s an extremely interesting location if you’re looking for a property near Palma, being situated just north-east of the island’s capital. The popular residential area of Sa Cabana is also part of Pont d’Inca.