The municipality of Santa Eulalia covers 153 square kms taking in the bulk of the east coast of the island. The town of Santa Eulalia itself lies on the east coast 8 km to the north east of Ibiza town.
It has been an important island focal point since time immemorial, by virtue of being home to the only river in the entire Balearic archipelago. This continual flowing water was essential for the flourmills, which enabled the creation of bread - the staple food of the islands for centuries. Down those centuries the settlement of Santa Eulalia, as the Christians named it, was known as Xarc under Islam and Levant in Arabic.
The formation of the village that eventually became the town that we know today goes back to the 18th century, when Ibiza town was granted 'city' status. This meant that it qualified for an Archbishop and consequently Santa Eulalia was elevated to the status of a parish. This all occurred during a period referred to as the 'enlightenment', which encouraged the creation of urban centres while at the same time the threat of piracy was receding, so the new archbishop acquired much of the land surrounding the local parish church and very soon the first families moved in.
The initial problems with the grand plan were overcrowding and inadequate services, but these did not prevent the town become the capital of the municipality. Then, at the beginning of the 19th century, the two main streets that form the heart of the town were laid out - Calle San Jaime and the Paseo S'Alamera. The newly elected mayor described his territory as a 'five star municipality' in his election address, referring to the five villages that lie within it: Jesus, Puig d'en Valls, Santa Gertrudis, San Carlos and Santa Eulalia.
Like the municipality of San José, it has an extensive coastline with a selection of beaches to match those of its south westerly neighbour. The interior, on the other hand, is far less rugged and therefore more intensively farmed. However, this doesn't detract from its beauty, as factory farming hasn't arrived here yet.
Rather, it's a major contributor to the excellent reputation of the Mediterranean diet...
