Sanitja

"El Cabo de Cavalleria" is the most northern part of Menorca, where you can find an ancient natural port called Sanitja o Sanicera. You have to go to Es Mercadal town and from there you have to take a road to the northern inlets of the municipality. There are a lot of signs and is very difficult to get lost. Follow these signs you will arrive to "Es Cap de Cavalleria". This is a cape with the highest cliffs in all Menorca and where you can find a lighthouse.

You have to pass in front of a farm called Cavalleria, go through Santa Teresa´s houses farm, where you can find an historic and ethnologic museum about this place. On your left you can find a long sea tongue, from where you can observe an old surveillance tower and some quiet landing stages. That is the place you are looking for: the port of Sanitja.

This is one of the quietest and safest places at the northern coast of Menorca. It´s a little long narrow port. In front of it you observe a little island which is used by some animals to protect themselves from the winter weather.

Sanitja, has a very beautiful natural landscape and it´s a very quiet place. There are only a few wild goats, which live there. In this area existed and disappeared a town, a village sunk between the sea and the ground which has a famous name which was well known all over the Mediterranean.

The great roman chronicler called Plinio el Viejo, described the towns in Menorca, he talked about three: Jammo (Ciutadella), Magona (Mao) and Sannicera. Even Pedro Martel, when he described the island to Jaime I before the conquest of Menorca by the Aragon Crown, he told about the "Sereyna port". This is the same port, which was found in the Catalan Atlas in 1375 like "Senija". Along the history, this place has had some names. It depended on the conquerings: Samnicera, Janissari, Sanisera, Senija, Sanitja…

It’s known by the archaeological findings that this emplacement was founded by the Phoenicians or the Carthaginians; this place became an important urban and seaboard centre of the population with a lot of defensive buildings, temples and necropolis. The prosperity of Sanitja was increased with the roman civilisation, which kept in a very good communication this port with Alaior town. It’s known by the ruins that the Romans were there from republican period to the VI century b.C. After this, it was abandoned.

Not far away from there, at the top of Es Pujol de Cavalleria, you can find a Taula. A lightning destroyed it. The prehistorically people considered this place as a sacred temple. This is the megalithic building, which is in the most northern part in the island and the only Taula, which is oriented to the north. In that place was found a statuette which resembled the god Mars warrior. It was found remains of a wall with semicircular shape. It could have been a lighthouse to indicate the position of the docks, predecessor of the modern lighthouse.

Nowadays the visitor can enjoy the ruins of the necropolis and the beauty of the place. This was the first place that emerged from the sea.

In fact, all Sanitja is an archaeological paradise to be discovered. Because there are a lot of things unknown underground and undersea. There are a lot of myths and legends about this place.

Madó Alzina, a peasant from Santa Teresa, told the researcher Francesc Camps that the statuette of Virgin Carmen which is in the Oratory of this farm was from the ancient City submerged called "Ses Vilotes"

Another legend tells us about a bishop who was condemned to die. He was tied to a chain and was thrown into the port; that is why the port is called "Es Canal de Sa Cadena". The old people from the place talked about how was the day they found a chain, which is supposed to belong the days of that tragedy. Nowadays, Nobody knows where is it.

You can find several kinds of vegetables in this area and around it.

	Savina Juniperus phoenicea Click here for more information... [Vegetables] - [Animals] - [Fungus]
	Trompera Ephedra fragilis Click here for more information... [Vegetables] - [Animals] - [Fungus]

Mata o Llentrisca
Pistacia lentiscus
Click here for more information...

	Fonoll marí Crithmum maritimum Click here for more information... [Vegetables] - [Animals] - [Fungus]
	Socarrell bord Centaurea balearica Click here for more information... [Vegetables] - [Animals] - [Fungus]

	Calàpet Bufo viridis Click here for more information... [Vegetables] - [Animals] - [Fungus]
	Cabra Capra hircus Click here for more information... [Vegetables] - [Animals] - [Fungus]
	Baldritja gran Calonectris diomedea Click here for more information... [Vegetables] - [Animals] - [Fungus]
	Corb marí o cagaire Phalacrocorax aristotelis Click here for more information... [Vegetables] - [Animals] - [Fungus]
	Gavina corsa Larus audouinii Click here for more information... [Vegetables] - [Animals] - [Fungus]
	Àguila peixatera Pandion haliaetus Click here for more information... [Vegetables] - [Animals] - [Fungus]