Mallorca news: key to Palma

29/08/2022 14:51

The key to Palma and the King of Mallorca has finally been returned to its rightful place after being missing for than 500 years. The hunt for this priceless piece of treasure has taken historians across the globe and in the end, thanks to the help of London auctioneers it was discovered in the United States.

It all started with the revolt of The Brotherhood between 1521 and 1523. This war of the guilds against the monarchy and nobility ended with the surrender of the brotherhoods in March 1523. In surrendering, the brotherhoods presented a form of peace offering to Carlos V, the Holy Roman Emperor, which included the keys to the city of Palma.

There are two keys. Made from gold, they were enamelled and painted. One is of Gothic style and is 18.5 centimetres long; the other one is characteristic of the Renaissance and is five centimetres longer. An inscription reads: "To the Sacred, Caesarean, Catholic and Royal Majesty, here are the keys to your Kingdom of Majorca, which the magistrate and fathers of the republic, together with the inhabitants of your kingdom, present to your Majesty as a token of loyalty."

What then happened to the keys is a mystery, but by the nineteenth century they were the possession of the Rothschild family. Far more recently, it was established that the keys still belonged to the Rothschilds. In 2007, it was discovered that they were on display in a museum in Jerusalem.

It was later discovered that the key had been sold by Christie´s to a jeweller in Dallas who agreed that the key go on public show in Palma. The search for the missing second key continues.