Mallorca will host the ninth edition of the Lighting of historical (some ancient) towers on the island, with 15% more participation than last year.
The Consell de Mallorca will light up 96 heritage structures throughout Mallorca this Saturday, January 25, as the annual Lighting of Towers, Talaies and Talaiots of the Mediterranean for Human Rights. The event is organised together with the Fons Mallorquí de Cooperación, the Balearic Society of Mathematics and Amnesty International.
Mallorca’s Head of Heritage, Maribel Arnau, stated that this event has different objectives: “on the one hand, to raise awareness about the situation in the Mediterranean, where many people lose their lives forced to flee their origins to seek a better future. On the other hand, to recover the towers, talaies, talaiots and fortifications as historical and cultural heritage that we have in all territories of the Mediterranean”.
The lighting will take place this Saturday, January 25, in two moments: in the early afternoon, at 13h, and in the early evening, at 18.30h.
This year, Amnesty International has written the manifesto that will be read before the 96 points are lit simultaneously. Together the lighting will recreate the visual communication that took place between the watchtowers, when they were a resource for self-defence. Today the lit towers represent a welcoming beacon that shows the way to arrival.
In recent years, the event has been gaining strength and more and more places are participating. Apart from all the Balearic Islands -Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera-, other territories have been added such as Catalonia, Aragon, the Valencian Community, Andalusia and countries in North Africa and the Middle East. All this is possible thanks to the involvement of citizens, town councils and different associations from both academic and civic circles.
History of the Lighting of Towers, Talaies and Talaiots
The lighting of towers, talaies and talaiots of the Mediterranean for human rights was born in Mallorca in 2016 as an initiative of a group of teachers from the IES Marratxí to make their dream of seeing the visual connection between the defence towers come true.
At that time, without knowing it, the 4th centenary of the death of Juan Bautista Binimelis was being commemorated, a mathematician and author of the signal system (smoke and fire) used since the 17th century to efficiently communicate possible pirate attacks coming from the sea. For this reason, the Balearic Society of Mathematics SBM-XEIX joined the organisation.
The initial reason for this event, therefore, was the historical recreation, for one day, of the visual communication function of these cultural heritage elements. Finally, given the current migration situation, it was decided to reflect on this problem and imagine that the fire and smoke from the towers on the day they were lit were the light that shows the way to a safe haven.