Palma

Palma or Palma de Mallorca, city in eastern Spain, capital of Balearic Islands autonomous region, on the island of Mallorca, on the Bay of Palma (an arm of the Mediterranean Sea). The chief manufactures are shoes, woolen goods, pottery, crystal, glass, matches, hardware, ship engines, cement, paper, iron, and brewery products. Palma has a substantial tourist industry. The city was captured from the Moors in 1229. It has a Gothic cathedral, begun in 1230 and completed in the early 17th century, with a chancel canopy by architect Antoni Gaudí. Other points of interest are a castle that was once a Moorish palace; a former Spanish royal palace located above the Bay of Palma; and the 13th-century San Francisco Church. Population (2006 estimate) 375,048.