WIND MILLS OF SA MIRANDA IN FORMENTERA
Giants memories of the past, when Formentera was hungry and in these mills that transformed the wheat into bread, thus they were essential in the daily life of this small island.
This "venda of Miranda" (venda, means something like neighborhood) is located on the same side of the capital of the smaller island of the "Pitiusas islands", and its main square is easy to find the street called Sa Miranda or Molins de sa Miranda. At that point is where we can find these gigants stone mills (6 are the antlers of wheat mills in Baleares, like those in Malta, which were identical in design to the Balearic Islands). This area although it seems a great plain, is actually the top of a small hill where with certain intensity blew the wind, reason why there are several of them at this very point. As we see in the picture above, today are relatively surrounded by lampposts and telephone, the result of technological breakthroughs that these mills have seen over the time.
In 1,990 these mills were declared of cultural interest, in the nineteenth century were seven throughout the island, only three remain today with the entire structure including the six blades per mill. These two mills have their names as locals know them by their proper names: Moli d'en Jeroni and Moli d'en Mateu. Although I have previously referred to the nineteenth century as a golden age, some of these mills were already in the eighteenth century, but unfortunately from the 50s of XXth century were falling into disuse.
As clearly seen in one of them, is privately owned and is within the grounds of a private house, but that does not stop us to see its top, while the other one can be fully seen.
These mills are situated at an altitude of 60 meters above sea level, although not seem high altitude, for Formentera which is a very flat island is enough that they might come the winds to blow and make them work, while the people awaited for the results , I mean from his wheat to subsequently get the bread.
These mills are situated at an altitude of 60 meters above sea level, although not seem high altitude, for Formentera which is a very flat island is enough that they might come the winds to blow and make them work, while the people awaited for the results , I mean from his wheat to subsequently get the bread.
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