Chief port, commercial centre, and capital of the
Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain, situated on a wide bay on the southwest coast of the island of
Mallorca, population (2001 est) 346,700. Industries include textiles, shoes, furniture, cement, paper, pottery, glass, and tourism it is one of Europe's most renowned resorts. Palma was founded as a Roman colony in 276
BC. It has a Gothic cathedral, begun in 1229; the 14th-century Almudaina palace, a former royal residence; and the 13th-century church of St Francis of Assisi, which contains the tomb of the Mallorcan scholar Ramon
Llull. During the Spanish civil war (193639), Palma was an important naval and air base of the Nationalists.
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