Church of San Antonio Abdad

A fortified church with 700 years of history

The most historically and artistically significant monument in Sant Antoni stands atop a small hill that is now hidden from view of the bay, but which was vital for protecting the inhabitants from pirate attacks coming in from the bay. Visit this church dedicated to Saint Anthony the Abbot and discover the features that make it a typical example of the fortress churches of Ibiza and Formentera.

Dating back to 1305, when the Archbishop of Tarragona granted the inhabitants of Portmany permission to build a chapel and a burial pit, it underwent various alterations subsequently, particularly throughout the 17th century. During your visit to this single-nave church with a semicircular vault, take note of the thick walls, the few openings to the outside and its square defensive tower, which you can see from the outside and which once housed two cannons. The church, like other traditional Ibizan churches, has a portico or ‘porxo’ where parishioners used to gather before and after mass.

A tip: if you’re in Ibiza on 17 January, the feast day of Saint Anthony the Abbot, or on 24 August, the feast day of Saint Bartholomew, do join in the patron saint’s festivities.