XIX century: Soller goes viral.
Description:
XIX century: Soller goes viral.
By the 1800s, a steady stream of curious foreigners had reached Mallorca. They came in search of mild winters, picturesque villages, folklore authenticity and sometimes strategic information (Napoleon sent at least one spy disguised as a writer).
A climate worth writing about at home
One such visitor (and likely spy) was André Grasse de Saint-Sauver, who arrived around 1800 and described the climate in advertising terms that any modern travel company would envy:
“The climate of Mallorca is temperate... In summer, fresh sea winds cushion the heat... the mountains protect the island from the north, he wrote in 1807. It was catnip for wealthy northern Europeans who needed an excuse to winter somewhere where there was no frostbite.
His opinion of Soller? Beautiful, yes - but tragically underused:
"You leave with regret that the islanders don't use it better," he snorted.
The tone—part admiration, part condescension—is typical of that era.