THE COUNTS OF PERALADA & MAJORCA

The Rocabertí family was one of the most important noble families of Catalonia and Mallorca, and part of the Kingdom of Aragon. This noble family, has its origins in the ninth century with Dalmau de Rocabert. The family has been outstanding over the centuries for its bonds with various members of royalty: the first was King Jaume I, who was accompanied by Count Dalmau V and his son Jofre III on his conquest of Mallorca. This was the beginning of the relationship with the island, that continued until the end of the nineteenth century when line died out. Over the centuries, various members of the line have stood out for their roles in the political or ecclesiastical scenes.
The Rocabertí family also had other surnames, such as Verí, Boixadors, Cotoner, Pacs/Pax, as they were related to several distinguished Mallorcan families.
The last members of the line were Don Tomás de Rocabertí, Don Antonio and Doña Juana Adelaida de Rocabertí, who was married to Ramon Despuig Fortuny, eighth Count of Montenegro, who, as nephew of Cardinal Despuig, was Raixa’s heir. When Juana Adelaida died (in 1899), the last member in the line, the ownership of Raixa passed to Fernando Truyols, Marquis of La Torre,and José Despuig González de Valbuena.
Finally, in 1923, Peralada was sold to Mr. Mateu, an industrialist from Barcelona, and the place was separated for good from Majorcan heirs. The family archive was moved to Palma, to be added to the archive of the Marquis of La Torre, so from then on all the documents relating to the Rocabertí family and their possessions in Catalonia have been kept in Mallorca. A few years ago, the descendants offered the archive to the Balearic Government, and today it can be consulted at the Archive of the Kingdom of Mallorca, under the direction of Mr. Ricard Urgell.
Besides this, the Palma de Mallorca Municipal Archive, directed by Mr. Pere de Montaner, Count of Zavellà (one of the titles held by the Rocabertí family), also holds documents relating to the Counts of Peralada as well as the Archive of Casa Vivot in Palma de Mallorca.

Peralada Library would like to pay tribute to this noble family, revive and recover the bonds with the island of Majorca and explain the relationship between the two areas: Peralada and Mallorca//Mallorca and Peralada. To this purpose, for some years we have been preparing the exhibition on “The Counts of Peralada and Majorca”, which will open in June, with the view of publishing a catalogue and giving lectures on the subject.
As mentioned earlier, this exhibition seeks to look at the relationship of the Counts of Peralada with Majorca: the family ties, the properties and the impact of their experiences on the restoration of the Castle and the Carme Convent in Peralada.
As an extraordinary event, the exhibition will display documents of the Counts of Peralada (Rocabertí family), kept at the Archive of the Kingdom of Majorca (Palma), as well as private documents from the Casa Vivot, valuable books and personal objects kept in the Library, the Archive and the Museum of the Castell de Peralada, belonging to this family whose history ended with the death of the last member at the end of the nineteenth century.
Bibliographic and documentary material has been selected from the major collection at Peralada Library, and thanks to this, visitors will be able to see the relationship of the Counts of Peralada with the most important properties of the island, such as Raixa (Bunyolí), Bendinat (Calvià) and Can Puig in Palma. The relationship with outstanding men from Mallorca, such as Cardinal Despuig, and Mallorcan chroniclers, such as Joan Dameto, Vicente Mut, Joaquim M. Bover, Antonio Furió and Álvaro Campaner.
The bibliographic and documentary exhibition will be complemented with pieces from the museum collection, furniture and paintings and altarpieces that belonged to the Counts of Peralada, painted by Mallorcan artists: Antoni Ribas/Ribes, Fausto Morell and other artists belonging to Guillem Mesquida’s circle. In addition, family portraits painted by the best portrait artist of the nineteenth century, Vicente López, will also be on display.
Inés Padrosa Gorgot

Librarian