Miró sculptures for Marivent Palace gardens

She said that the gesture by the Miró family was a generous one and that the sculptures will be an enhancement to the gardens and will add more cultural value. The artist's grandson, Joan Punyent Miró, said that the sculptures will be "something historical"; no other European royalty has a sculpture garden such as the one that will be at the Marivent. "Our intention is that the sculptures will always be there, unless there is specific need for an exhibition," he explained.

Vice-President Barceló said that the definitive announcement of the gardens' opening marked an "important day". In addition to their high cultural value, he observed that they have great botanical interest. There are up to forty different plant species, most of them native.

The Majorcan public and tourists, Barceló added, are gaining "all this green space". There has long been a call for the gardens to be open, and this was something included in the government's "agreements for change".

The project to open the gardens has been coordinated by the ministry for the presidency. Work has cost 217,000 euros, and the annual cost for maintenance, security, gardener and insurance will be around 100,000 euros.

Entrance will be free and the gardens will be open all year except at Easter and from 15 July to 15 September. Opening hours will be 09.00-20.00 from May to 30 September and 09.00-16.30 between 1 October and 30 April. Maximum capacity at any one time will be 300 people. Dogs and bikes will not be permitted.