Ibiza

The official Catalan name is Eivissa (locally [əjˈvisə]). Its name in Spanish is Ibiza (pronounced [iˈβiθa]). In British English, the name is usually pronounced in an approximation of the Spanish (/aɪˈbiːθə, ɪˈ-/ eye-BEE-thə, ih-[4]), whereas in American English the pronunciation is closer to Latin American Spanish (/ɪˈbiːzə/ ib-EE-zə,[5] /iːˈbiːsə/ ee-BEE-sə,[6][7][8] and so forth).

Phoenician colonists called the island Ibossim or Iboshim (Phoenician: 𐤀𐤁𐤔𐤌, ʾBŠM,[9] "Dedicated to Bes").[10][11] It was later known to Romans as Ebusus. The Greeks called the two islands of Ibiza and Formentera the Pityoûssai (Πιτυοῦσσαι, "Pine-Covered Islands").[12]

In the 18th and 19th centuries the island was known to the British and especially to the Royal Navy as Ivica.[13]

Ancient Greek aryballoi found in the necropolis of Puig des Molins. Museu de Puig des Molins, Ibiza

In 654 BC, Phoenician settlers founded a port on Ibiza. With the decline of Phoenicia after the Assyrian invasions, Ibiza came under the control of Carthage, also a former Phoenician colony. The island produced dye, salt, fish sauce (garum) and wool.

A shrine with offerings to the goddess Tanit was established in the cave at Es Cuieram, and the rest of the Balearic Islands entered Eivissa's commercial orbit after 400 BC. Ibiza was a major trading post along the Mediterranean routes. Ibiza began establishing its own trading stations along the nearby Balearic island of Majorca, such as Na Guardis, and "Na Galera" where numerous Balearic mercenaries hired on, no doubt as slingers,[lower-alpha 1] to fight for Carthage.

View of the old town from the port

During the Second Punic War, the island was assaulted by the two Scipio brothers in 217 BC but remained loyal to Carthage. With the Carthaginian military failing on the Iberian mainland, Ibiza was last used, 205 B.C, by the fleeing Carthaginian General Mago to gather supplies and men before sailing to Menorca and then to Liguria. Ibiza negotiated a favorable treaty (Foedus) with the Romans, which spared Ibiza from further destruction and allowed it to continue its Carthaginian-Punic institutions, traditions and even coinage well into the Empire days, when it became an official Roman municipality.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire and a brief period of first Vandal and then Byzantine rule, the island was conquered by the Moors in 902, the few remaining locals converted to Islam and Berber settlers came in. Under Islamic rule, Ibiza (Yabisah) came in close contact with the city of Dénia—the closest port in the nearby Iberian peninsula, located in the Valencian Community—and the two areas were administered jointly by the Taifa of Dénia during some time (11th century).

Ibiza together with the islands of Formentera and Menorca were invaded by the Norwegian King Sigurd I of Norway in the spring of 1110 on his crusade to Jerusalem. The king had previously conquered the cities of Sintra, Lisbon and Alcácer do Sal and given them over to Christian rulers, in an effort to weaken the Muslim grip on the Iberian peninsula. King Sigurd continued to Sicily where he visited King Roger II of Sicily.[15]

The island was conquered by Aragonese King James I in 1235. The local Muslim population got deported as was the case with neighboring Majorca and elsewhere, and Christians arrived from Girona. The island maintained its own self-government in several forms until 1715, when King Philip V of Spain abolished the local government's autonomy. The arrival of democracy in the late 1970s led to the Statute of Autonomy of the Balearic Islands. Today, the island is part of the Balearic Autonomous Community, along with Majorca, Menorca and Formentera.

Though primarily known for its party scene, large portions of the island are registered as UNESCO World Heritage Sites,[16] and thus protected from the development and commercialization of the main cities.

A notable example includes the Renaissance walls of the old town of Ibiza City which were awarded UNESCO World Heritage Status in 1999. They are one of the world's few Renaissance walls that were not demolished, and part of the medieval wall is still visible. At "God's Finger" in the Benirràs Bay there are some of the more traditional Ibizan cultural sites, such as the remains of the first Phoenician settlement at Sa Caleta. Other sites are still under threat from the developers, such as Ses Feixes Wetlands,[17] but this site has now been recognised as a threatened environment, and it is expected that steps will be taken to preserve this wetland.

Ibiza is a rock island covering an area of 572.56 square kilometres (221.07 sq mi), almost six times smaller than Majorca, but over five times larger than Mykonos (in the Greek Isles) or 10 times larger than Manhattan in New York City.

Satellite photo (2013) showing terrain and towns as lighter areas: Ibiza Town (bottom central bay), Sant Antoni (upper left bay) and Santa Eulària (lower right). Airport runways cross the southern point.

The five municipalities

Ibiza is the larger of a group of the western Balearic archipelago called the "Pitiusas" or "Pine Islands" composed of itself and Formentera. The Balearic island chain includes over 50 islands, many of which are uninhabited. The highest point of the island is Sa Talaiassa, also known as Sa Talaia or Sa Talaia de Sant Josep at 475 metres (1,558 ft).

Ibiza is administratively part of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands, whose capital is Palma, on the island of Majorca. Ibiza comprises five of the community's 67 municipalities. Clockwise from the south coast, these are:

• Sant Josep de sa Talaia (Spanish: San José)
• Sant Antoni de Portmany (San Antonio Abad)
• Sant Joan de Labritja (San Juan Bautista)
• Santa Eulària des Riu (Santa Eulalia del Río)
• Vila d'Eivissa ("Ibiza Town"; known simply as Vila, "Town")

At the 2001 census these municipalities had a total population of 88,076 inhabitants, which had risen to an officially estimated 147,914 by the start of 2019,[18] and have a land area of 572.56 km² (221.07 sq mi).

Ibiza has a Hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa) bordering on a Hot semi-arid climate (BSh). The average annual temperature of Ibiza is 18.3 °C (65 °F), being warm and mild throughout the whole year. Ibiza lies at the same latitude as Atlantic City, yet it is much warmer for its location in the Mediterranean Basin. The climate of Ibiza is typically warm, sunny and dry, with low variation between highs and lows. The sunshine hours of Ibiza are 2700-2800 per year, while the yearly rain amount goes from 400 to 450 millimetres (16 to 18 in). The average high temperature is 22.2 °C (72 °F), while the average low is 14.3 °C (58 °F). Winters are slightly rainy and mild, from November to April normally the whole island turns green for the seasonal rains. Summers are hot and very dry, with few rainy days, often accompanied by thunderstorms. During the coldest month, January, the average high temperature is 15.7 °C (60 °F), while the average low is 8.1 °C (47 °F). In the warmest month, August, the average high temperature is 30.3 °C (87 °F), while the low is 22.2 °C (72 °F). Extreme temperatures are rare for the influence of the sea. The average temperature of the sea in Ibiza is 19.7 °C (67 °F) and beach weather usually lasts 7 months, from May to November.[19]

The typical folkloric dance of Ibiza is Ball Pagès. The origin of these dances is unknown. Nowadays, this tradition is in the process of recovery, thanks to the efforts of different Colles of Ball Pages of the islands. The clothing of the dancers is very colorful. The speed of the dance can be slow, medium or fast, although Sa Llarga, is the most danced way, and it's fast, dynamic and energetic, where the male dancer jumps around the woman and lifts up his legs.

Demographically, Ibiza displays a very peculiar configuration, as census agencies diverge on exact figures. According to the 2001 national census, Ibiza had 88,076 inhabitants (against 76,000 in 1991, 64,000 in 1981, 45,000 in 1971, and 38,000 in 1961). However, by the 2011 national census, this had grown to 133,594, and by the start of 2019 had reached 147,914. This rapid growth stems from the amnesty which incorporated a number of unregistered foreign migrants. In terms of origin, about 55 per cent of island residents were born in Ibiza, 35 per cent are domestic migrants from mainland Spain (mostly working-class families from Andalusia, and the remainder from Catalonia, Valencia and Castile), and the remaining 10 to 15 per cent are foreign, dual and multi-national citizens of the EU and abroad (Govern de les Illes Balears – IBAE 1996). In decreasing order, the most commonly visiting foreigners are German, British, Latin American, French, Italian and Dutch.

The Spanish composer and music theorist Miguel Roig-Francolí was born in Ibiza,[24] as was the politician and Spain's former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abel Matutes.[25] Notable former residents of Ibiza include: English punk musician John Simon Ritchie (Sid Vicious),[26] comic actor Terry-Thomas,[27] Hungarian master forger Elmyr de Hory,[28] American authors Cormac McCarthy and Clifford Irving, and film director/actor Orson Welles.[29]

Eivissenc is the native dialect of Catalan that is spoken on Ibiza and nearby Formentera. Catalan shares co-official status with Spanish. Additionally, because of the influence of tourism and expatriates living in or maintaining residences on the island, other languages, like English, French, German and Italian, are widely spoken.[30]

Ibiza has been featured in the racing game Test Drive Unlimited 2, in which the player can drive around the entire island. The game also features the island of Oahu (Hawaii's third-largest island).

A number of novels and other books have been written using Ibiza as the setting, including "The White Island" by Stephen Armstrong, Joshua Then and Now by Mordecai Richler, Soma Blues by Robert Sheckley,[35] Vacation in Ibiza by Lawrence Schimel,[36] A Short Life on a Sunny Isle: An Alphonse Dantan Mystery by Hannah Blank,[37] They Are Ruining Ibiza by A. C. Greene,[38] and The Python Project by Victor Canning.[39] Memes Eivissencs also have registered the traditions of their residents and their history in social media.

In popular music, American singer-songwriter Mike Posner released "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" (alternatively known as "In Ibiza", or its clean title "I Took a Plane to Ibiza") in April 2015, as single on his Vevo account and in the exclusive The Truth EP; it was later released on At Night, Alone. in May 2016. Originally an acoustic guitar-based folk pop song, it was remixed by the Norwegian duo SeeB as a tropical house dance pop song, and released digitally as a single in the United States on 24 July 2015. "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.,[40] and reached #1 on seventeen other charts. Tourism officials in Ibiza were reportedly "annoyed" by the song's apparent reinforcement of drug culture associated with Ibiza in the past, and Tourism Director Vicent Ferrer subsequently invited Posner to witness the island's culture and how it contrasts with the party "typecast."[41]

Because of its rustic beauty, both companies and artists frequently use the island for photographic and film shoots. A monument ("The Egg") erected in honour of Christopher Columbus is in Sant Antoni; Ibiza is one of several places purporting to be his birthplace.

Since the early days of mass tourism on the island, there have been a large number of development projects ranging from successful ventures, such as the super clubs at Space and Privilege, to failed development projects, such as Josep Lluís Sert's abandoned hotel complex at Cala D'en Serra,[42] the half-completed and now demolished "Idea" nightclub in Sant Antoni,[43] and the ruins of a huge restaurant/nightclub in the hills near Sant Josep called "Festival Club" that only operated for three summer seasons in the early 1970s.[44] The transient nature of club-oriented tourism is most obvious in these ruins scattered all over the island. Local artist Irene de Andrès has tackled the difficult issue of the impact of mass tourism on the island local landscapes, both natural and cultural, in an ongoing project called "Donde nada ocurre" (Where nothing happens).[45] In 2013, Ibiza property prices generally remained above market value, and many of the development projects on the island have now been completed or continue, as well as some new projects announced at the end of 2012. Since 2009, Ibiza has received an increase in the number of tourists every year, with nearly 6 million people travelling through Ibiza Airport in 2012. The summer season has become concentrated between June and September, focusing on the "clubbing calendar"[46] which is currently booming. In recent years, the luxury market has dramatically improved, with new restaurants, clubs, and improvements to the marina in Ibiza Town.[47]

Ibiza's increased popularity has led to problems with potable water shortages and overrun infrastructure. This has led to the imposition of a "Sustainable Tourism Tax" which went into effect in 1 July 2016.[48] Minister of Tourism Vincente Torres stated in an interview in 2016 that the government has instituted a moratorium and building in certain areas. He said that with almost 100,000 legal tourist beds and about 132,000 inhabitants on the island's 572 square kilometres (221 sq mi) not much more tourism can be supported.[48]

Map of roads and Ibiza Airport (on southern point) and water routes (click map to enlarge).

Ibiza has its own airport, which has many international flights during the summer tourist season, especially from the European Union.

There are also ferries from the harbour of Sant Antoni and Ibiza Town to Barcelona, Majorca, Dénia, and Valencia. There are also ferries to Formentera leaving Sant Antoni Harbour (normally every Wednesday), and daily from Ibiza Town, Santa Eulària, and Figueretes–Platja d'en Bossa.

Several public buses also travel between Sant Antoni and Ibiza Town, every 15 minutes in summer and every half-hour in winter. In addition, there are buses from Sant Antoni to Cala Bassa, Cala Conta and Cala Tarida, and to the airport. From Ibiza there are buses to the Platja d'en Bossa, Ses Salines, the airport and Santa Eulària.

Ibiza's local cuisine is typically Mediterranean. Of the most common culinary products of the island are sweets known as flaons. Other savory dishes include sofrit pagès, bullit de peix (fish stew), arròs de matança (rice with pork) and arròs a la marinera.

• 
  The Platja d'en Bossa looking north towards Ibiza Town
• 
  Puig de Missa in Santa Eulària
• 
  Marina of Santa Eulària des Riu
• 
  Bay
• 
  Clear water
• 
  Phoenician settlement remains at Sa Caleta
• 
  Old country house

• Consell Insular d'Eivissa (local government) (in Catalan)
• "Official tourism portal of Ibiza" – Consell Insular d'Eivissa