Formentera (, ) is a Spanish island located in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

, which belongs to the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

(

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

) together with

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...

, and

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

. Formentera is the smallest and most southerly

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

of the Pityusic Islands group (comprising

and Formentera itself, as well as various small islets). It covers an area of , including offshore islets. At the 2011 Census, the population was 10,583; according to the Census of 1 January 2021, it counted 11,891 inhabitants, while the official estimate at 1 January 2023 was 11,389.

History

The island's name is said to derive from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word ''frumentarium'', meaning "granary". The island was occupied in prehistoric times, going back to 2,000–1,600 BC. Archaeological sites from that period remain in Ca na Costa, Cap de Barbaria (multiple sites) and Cova des Fum. The island had been occupied by the

Carthaginians The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people, Semitic people who Phoenician settlement of North Africa, migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Iron ...

before passing to the

ancient Romans The Roman people was the ethnicity and the body of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens (; ) during the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire. This concept underwent considerable changes throughout the long history of the Roman ...

. In succeeding centuries, it passed to the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...

, the Byzantines, the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vand ...

, and the

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

. In 1109, Formentera was the target of a devastating attack by the Norwegian king Sigurd I at the head of the Norwegian Crusade. The island was conquered by James I the Conqueror, added to the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...

and later became part of the medieval

Kingdom of Majorca The Kingdom of Majorca (, ; ; ; ) was an insular realm off the east coast of modern day Spain, which included the islands of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The islands were conquered from the Almohad Caliphate by James I of Aragon, ...

. From 1403 to the early 18th century, the threat of Barbary pirate attacks rendered the island uninhabitable. On 17 June 1651, during the

Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659) The Franco-Spanish War , May 1635 to November 1659, was fought between Kingdom of France, France and Habsburg Spain, Spain, each supported by various allies at different points. The first phase, beginning in May 1635 and ending with the 1648 Peac ...

, a squadron of Spanish

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

s under John of Austria the Younger captured the French galleon ''Lion Couronné'' off this island. The island and its surrounding islets became a separate insular council with the same territory as the eponymous municipality after 1977. Before that, it was administered in the former insular council of Ibiza and Formentera (covering the whole group of the Pityusic Islands), but in a separate

comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, mark ...

which already covered the current municipality of Formentera. This reform allowed Ibiza to unify its comarca of five municipalities with its new insular council, no longer administrating Formentera.

Geography

The main island of Formentera is long and is located about south of Ibiza in the

. More specifically Formentera is part of the delimitation of the

Balearic Sea The Balearic Sea ( endotoponym: ''Mar Balear'' in Catalan and Spanish) also known as Iberian Sea, is a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea between the Balearic Islands and mainland Spain. The Ebro River flows into this small sea. Islands a ...

, which is a northwestern element of the Mediterranean Sea. Its major villages are Sant Francesc Xavier, Sant Ferran de ses Roques, El Pilar de la Mola (on the

La Mola La Mola is a peninsula that forms the eastern end of the island of Formentera, in the Balearic Islands of Spain, in the western Mediterranean Sea. It contains the highest part of the island, with an elevation of about 200 m, as well as the ...

peninsula), La Savina, and Es Pujols, the most important tourist destination of the island. Formentera comprises one

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

, also called Formentera, and has a population of 11,981 (as of 1 January 2021). Its land area is . It is subdivided into several civil parishes (''parròquies''), themselves subdivided into ''vendas'' (''véndes'' in Catalan). North of Formentera is located Espalmador (in Catalan: ''Illa de S'Espalmador''), the second largest island of the Pitiusas Islands, surrounded by a few minor islets. Espalmador is a

tombolo A tombolo is a sandy or shingle isthmus. It is a deposition landform by which an island becomes attached to the mainland by a narrow piece of land such as a spit or bar. Once attached, the island is then known as a tied island. The word ''t ...

, separated from the main island of Formentera by a shallow

sandbar In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body of water close to the surface or ...

. This area is a popular stopping point for those in yachts heading between Ibiza and Formentera.

Climate

Formentera has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

with hot, very dry summers and warm, dry winters. The flat orography of the island means that rainfall is scarce and the temperature is quite uniform. The average annual rainfall is 370–420 mm. The average annual temperature is between 17 and 18 °C. Overall, the climate is mild, with an average annual temperature of 18.6 degrees Celsius and 2883 hours of annual sunshine on average.

Administration

Insular government

Elections are held every four years concurrently with

local elections Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

. From 1983 to 2007, councilors were indirectly elected from the results of the election to

Parliament of the Balearic Islands The Parliament of the Balearic Islands (Catalan language, Catalan: ''Parlament de les Illes Balears''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Parlamento de las Islas Baleares'') is the unicameral List of Spanish regional legislatures, autonomous parliament ...

for the constituencies of

and

Formentera Formentera (, ) is a Spanish island located in the Mediterranean Sea, which belongs to the Balearic Islands autonomous community (Spain) together with Mallorca, Menorca, and Ibiza. Formentera is the smallest and most southerly island of the ...

(then forming a single Island council, with Formentera sending a single councilor to both Parliament and the Island council). Since 2007, however, separate direct elections are held to elect the Island Council of Formentera, with currently 17 seats ( it only sends a single one to the Balearic Parliament).

Results of the elections to the former Island Council of Ibiza and Formentera

Results of the elections to the Island Council of Formentera

Attractions

Since the 1960s, Formentera has been a popular destination for

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

s. Formentera is renowned across Europe for many pristine white beaches and the fact that nude sunbathing is allowed on most of its

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

es. Throughout its history, Formentera has been the subject of many legends, written in novels by famous writers such as

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

, and in songs by musicians as varied as

Gilberto Gil Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira (; born 26 June 1942), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and politician, known for both his musical innovation and political activism. From 2003 to 2008, he served as Brazil's Ministry of Culture (Brazil), Minister of ...

and

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

. From this artistic curiosity, the annual ''Formentera Jazz Festival'' has been held annually in early June and features many emerging and established musicians from the local and international scene. The Canadian writer Patrick Roscoe was born in Formentera.

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

wrote her 1971 album ''

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

'' on the island while

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

once slept on the Far de la Mola on the island. Author

Matt Haig Matt Haig (born 3 July 1975) is an English author and journalist. He has written both fiction and non-fiction books for children and adults, often in the speculative fiction genre. Early life Haig was born on 3 July 1975 in Sheffield. He grew ...

also writes about visiting the island often in his twenties in '' Reasons to Stay Alive''. The opening track of the

King Crimson King Crimson were an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald (musician), Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield. Guitarist Fripp remained the only constant member throughout the ...

album ''

Islands This is a list of the lists of islands in the world grouped by country, by continent, by body of water, and by other classifications. For rank-order lists, see the #Other lists of islands, other lists of islands below. Lists of islands by count ...

'', ''Formentera Lady'', is named after the island.

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

also worked on his hit song '' Carolina in My Mind'' on holiday from recording with

Apple Records Apple Records is a British record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists inclu ...

, though he began writing it in London and completed it on the nearby island of

. The Cap de Barbaria Lighthouse plays a pivotal role in

Julio Medem Julio Medem Lafont (born 21 October 1958) is a Basque film director, producer, editor, and screenwriter. Biography Medem was born on 21 October 1958 in San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain and showed an interest in movies since childhood, when ...

's 2001 Spanish film, '' Sex and Lucia (Lucía y el sexo)'', which was filmed on the island and served as a touchstone for the various characters' interwoven relationships. Although paved roads allow access to all parts of the island and cars are easily hired in the port, many people choose to rent mopeds or even bicycles due to the flat nature of most of the island and the availability of dedicated cycle tracks in many locations. The island also has four

Martello tower Martello towers are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts. They stand up to high (with two floors) and typica ...

Transport

With no airports, the island was formerly reachable only by boat from Ibiza, making it the quieter of the two islands, but in recent years regular passenger service from the Spanish mainland has increased tourism. Ferry tickets from

are available in advance, as are transfers from Ibiza airport or port directly to accommodation in Formentera. Ferries to Formentera operate from their own terminal in Ibiza port, with departures every half hour in high season on large (200+ passenger) fast

catamaran A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a watercraft with two parallel hull (watercraft), hulls of equal size. The wide distance between a catamaran's hulls imparts stability through resistance to rolling and overturning; no ballast is requi ...

s. The journey takes approximately 30 minutes comprising 10 minutes leaving Ibiza, 10 minutes crossing the sea, and 10 minutes arriving in Formentera past the

isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...

to Espalmador. Some of the anchorages may not be suitable for sailboats under less than ideal circumstances.

Culture

A local Ibizan (''eivissenc'') variant of the

Balearic dialect Balearic ( ) is the group of dialects of Catalan language, Catalan spoken in the Balearic Islands: in Mallorca, in Ibiza and Menorcan, ''menorquí'' in Menorca. At the 2011 census, 861,232 respondents in the Balearic Islands claimed to be a ...

of the

Catalan language Catalan () is a Western Romance languages, Western Romance language and is the official language of Andorra, and the official language of three autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous communities in eastern Spain: Catalonia, the Balearic I ...

is spoken in Formentera. While the official languages are Catalan and Spanish, other major languages like English, Italian, German, French and Dutch can also be heard extensively in the summer due to mass tourism.

Sports

From 1 September to 7 September, Formentera hosted the 2007 Techno 293 OD World Championships in

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind-propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the Californian aerospace and surf culture. Windsurfing gain ...

for juniors under 15 and youths under 17.Techno 293 OD World Championships
/ref>

Villages

* Es Mal Pas

Gallery

File:Sant Francesc Formentera.jpg, Church in Sant Francesc File:Formentera sat.png, Satellite picture of Formentera File:Formentera_cliffs.jpg, The coastline near Cala Saona File:S'espalmador.jpg, Island of Espalmador File:Platja Trucadors.JPG, Trucadors Beach

References

External links

Consell de Formentera

Local government website
{{authority control Comarcas of the Balearic Islands Islands of the Balearic Islands Municipalities in the Balearic Islands Nude beaches Mediterranean islands