Description of the municipality and a brief historical overview
THE MUNICIPALITY

Visitors and unfortunately some local people who have no direct link to the area know little about the plains of Mallorca. Ariany stands out among the “hidden” towns of the plains. The cause (or excuse) for this lack of knowledge is the absence of roads connecting the main towns of the area. This means that to visit Ariany you must come here on purpose. Isolation and discretion have largely helped to preserve Ariany’s landscape and traditional heritage and to avoid the contamination of its culture and loss of identity that more popular towns from the surrounding area have suffered.

Ariany has become more popular due to the fact that it was the last town in Mallorca to gain municipal independence. After several attempts, the effort of the people of Ariany to build and manage their future bore fruit and the town became independent from Petra in 1982. The landscape and life of Ariany have been markedly influenced by agriculture. All the colours and shapes (harvested land, forests, cliffs, town and country houses, wells, windmills, etc) are a tribute to agriculture even in a time in which country life is more a memory than a reality.

HISTORY

According to the evidence found in the settlements of the area, Ariany has been populated since the Pre-Talaiotic period. In King Jaume I’s time there was an estate called Arian which was given to the Cotoner family. The town was built around the houses of s'Auberg, where the peasants paid their taxes. During the Spanish War of Succession, the Cotoner family was rewarded with the Marquessate of Ariany for their support to Felipe V. Ariany was a village of Petra until it gained municipal independence in 1982. Before this date, though, there had been two failed attempts in 1925 and 1949. .