Palma

Palma, Jacopo, c.1480-1528, Venetian painter, called Palma Vecchio. He formed his style under the influence of Giovanni Bellini, Titian, and Giorgione and ranks as one of the foremost masters of his school. His pictures are notable for their brilliant coloring and lighting and for their idyllic landscape backgrounds. He is also known for his portraits of women, of which there is a splendid series in the Liechtenstein Gallery, Vienna. He left more than 40 unfinished works, which were completed by his numerous pupils. Among the most important of Palma Vecchio's works are many of his favorite subject, Sacra Conversazione (the Madonna and Child with saints), examples of which are in Naples, Vienna, and Venice; an altarpiece, with a figure of St. Barbara (Church of Santa Maria Formosa, Venice); The Virgin Enthroned (Church of San Stefano, Vicenza); Christ and the Adulteress and St. Peter Enthroned (Venice Acad.); Adoration of the Shepherds (Louvre); portraits in the National Gallery, London; and St. Peter Presenting a Worshiper to the Infant Christ (Palazzo Colonna, Rome). His grandnephew Jacopo Palma, 1544-1628, Venetian painter, called Palma Giovane, formed his style by studying the works of Titian, Tintoretto, and the great masters of Rome. He was a facile technician and an excellent colorist. Examples of his art are The Last Judgment and The Savior Adored by Two Doges (ducal palace, Venice); St. Catherine Rescued from the Wheel (Church of the Frari, Venice); and Madonna with Saints (Naples).

Palma, Ricardo, 1833-1919, Peruvian scholar and author. Palma abandoned an active early career as a naval officer, journalist, and politician to achieve note as a historian with a book on the Inquisition in Lima (1863). After the War of the Pacific (1879-84) he was in charge of rebuilding the destroyed national library. He made it one of the finest libraries in South America and served as its director for many years. Palma, however, won enduring fame and a unique place in Spanish American letters as the creator of a new genre, the tradición, or historical anecdote. Part fiction and part historical reconstruction, these sketches and stories about colonial Peru are permeated by wit, love of the past, and all-encompassing imagination. They were published in a long series of volumes, Tradiciones peruanas (1872-1910); some have been translated into English under the title The Knights of the Cape (ed. by Harriet de Onís, 1945).

Palma, Tomás Estrada: see Estrada Palma, Tomás.

Palma or Palma de Mallorca, city (1990 pop. 325,120), capital of Majorca island and of Baleares prov., Spain, on the Bay of Palma. It is the chief port and commercial center of the Balearic Islands. Picturesquely situated along the bay and into the surrounding hills, it is one of Europe's most renowned resorts. The international airport is one of the three busiest in Spain. Craft industries and the manufacture of furniture and textiles supplement the tourism. Stone Age remains have been found. The imposing Gothic cathedral, founded after James I of Aragón wrested (1229) Palma from the Moors, was finished only in the 17th cent. Nearby are the Castillo della Almudaina (once a Moorish palace), and the 15th-century Lonja [exchange]. There are several ancient churches, notably that of San Francisco (13th cent.), and fine private homes. The former royal palace of Bellver, c.2 mi (3.2 km) W of Palma, is a good example of 14th-century military architecture. The city has several fine modern and contemporary art museums, including the Miró Foundation. Palma was an important naval and air base of the Nationalists during the Spanish civil war (1936-39).

in full Palma de Mallorca

City (pop., 2006 est.: 284,000), capital of the Balearic Islands and communidad autónoma (autonomous community), Spain. Palma lies on the southwestern coast of Majorca island on Palma Bay in the western Mediterranean Sea. Romans conquered Majorca in 123 BC, and it was later ruled by Byzantines and by the Arabs before being taken by James I of Aragon in 1229. The city's old sections have many notable homes built in the 16th and 18th centuries. Historic buildings include the Gothic cathedral and Bellver Castle. The economy is varied and includes tourism and light manufacturing.

Learn more about Palma with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Palma, La Palma, Palmas, or Las Palmas may refer to:

Geography

In Africa

• Palma District, Mozambique
• Palma, Mozambique, city

In the Americas

• Palma, Minas Gerais, municipality in Brazil
• Palmas, Tocantins, city, Brazil
• Palmas, Paraná, municipality, Brazil
• La Palma, California, city, United States
• La Palma, Cuba, city
• La Palma, El Salvador, municipality
• La Palma, Panama, city
• Palma, Uruguay

In Europe

• Palma Campania, town in Campania, Italy
• Palma di Montechiaro, town in Sicily, Italy
• Palma de Mallorca, city on Majorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
• La Palma, one of the Canary Islands, Spain
• Santa Cruz de la Palma, the capital of the island of La Palma, Spain
• Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, a city on Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain

Persons

• Palma the Elder, Italian painter
• Palma the Younger, Italian painter
• Brian de Palma, U.S. cinema director
• Rossy de Palma, Spanish actress and model
• Ricardo Palma, Peruvian writer and a journalist

Other

• 372 Palma, a Main Belt asteroid
• La Palma (newspaper), a Spanish-language newspaper in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States