History

The agreement signed in 1234 by Guillermo de Montgrí, Peter of Portugal and Nuno Sanç, future conquerors of the islands, established as one of the first obligations to create a parish dedicated to Saint Mary (Santa Maria d' Eivissa), in the city of Ibiza

Ibiza Town

Ibiza Town is a city and municipality located on the southeast coast of the island of Ibiza in the Balearic Islands autonomous community. Although called Ibiza in English and Spanish, the official name is in Catalan Eivissa and its inhabitants call it Vila d'Eivissa or simply Vila...

. This parish became a reality once the conquest was taken on, on 8th August 1235. At first it was set up in an already existing building, maybe a Muslim mosque readapted to Christian cult, though this fact has never been proved despite the many archaeological investigations that have been carried out.



Available data show that on the east side was added, to a pre-existing building, the whole unit made up of the bell tower of trapezoidal ground plan and the polygonal apse

Apse

In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...

 with its five chapels

Chapel

A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...

. It is a very solid building, of classic Gothic style, built on XVI century. Moreover, from the steeple the important set of bells of XVI and XVII century on the third floor is to be pointed out; they have been recently restored by the Heritage Conselleria. It is considered by the experts as one of the most relevant of its kind.



We know that in 1435, the church had five chapels dedicated to Saint James and Saint Michael, to Saint Tecla

Thecla

Thecla was a saint of the early Christian Church, and a reported follower of Paul the Apostle. The only known record of her comes from the apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla, probably composed in the 2nd century.-Biography:...

 and Saint Anthony

Saint Anthony

-People:*Anthony of Antioch , Martyr under Diocletian. Feast day: January 9*Anthony the Great , Egyptian Christian saint and Desert Father. Feast day: January 17 or 30...

, to Saint John Baptist

John the Baptist

John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...

 and Saint John Evangelist and to Saint Peter

Saint Peter

Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...

 and Saint Paul. A new nave was built at the end of XV century, finished off with the Fonda chapel made by the Francolins in 1538.



In XVIII century, taking into account the bad condition of the temple – particularly that of its roofs - a big refurbishment was carried out in the building. The works were directed by Jaume Espinosa and Pere Ferro "obrers de la vila" [labourers of the city] and they took place between 1715 and 1728. In 1782, the Pope Pius VI

Pope Pius VI

Pope Pius VI , born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, was Pope from 1775 to 1799.-Early years:Braschi was born in Cesena...

 founded the episcopal seat of Ibiza and the medieval church, renovated, became the Cathedral, which would have to perpetually remain suffragan of Tarragona

Tarragona

Tarragona is a city located in the south of Catalonia on the north-east of Spain, by the Mediterranean. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the capital of the Catalan comarca Tarragonès. In the medieval and modern times it was the capital of the Vegueria of Tarragona...

, as it has previously happened when it was a parish, because of the binding of the old conquerors.



The cathedral keeps many works of art, among which the following are to be pointed out: a Gothic monstrance of golden silver, made by Francesc Martí in 1399, two Gothic panels of Saint Tecla and Saint Anthony, painted by Francesc Cornes in XIV century and another two, of XV century in this case, from the master Valentí Montoliu, that represent Saint James and Saint Matthew.