Barracas

Barracas (Menorquin spelling: barraques) dot the farming landscape on the entire island of Menorca.

The hostility of the wind and earth prompted the "payeses" to build these behive-shaped structures with five-foot thick stone walles to protect their animals.

These round structures were built in the middle of the XIX century and are tiered like a wedding cake.

There is but one door, no windows.

Photos: Magda Clopés

The greatest concentration of barracas (some 70 buildings) can be found in the North, at Ses Truqueries.

The architectonic style is similiar to structures found in Corsica and Sicily. Barracas distinguish themselves by great craftsmanship, as the stones need to be laid to meet at the high domed top

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