Casa Pare Ginard. Museu de la Paraula
The childhood home of Father Rafel Ginard in Sant Joan, now a museum of Mallorcan oral culture with glosses (improvised verses), old photographs and augmented reality.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Casa Pare Ginard. Museu de la Paraula is on the carrer de Socies in Sant Joan, in the house where the priest and folklorist Rafel Ginard (born in Sant Joan in 1899) spent his childhood until the age of 13, when he left for Artà to study with the Franciscans. It is a typical two-storey farmhouse from the second half of the 19th century, with features of ethnographic interest such as the molino de sangre (animal-powered mill, 1864), the wine press (1884), the cistern (1876) and the stable (1902). The Consell de Mallorca (island council) bought it in 2002, with the support of the Teranyines de Sant Joan collective, and after renovation it opened in 2007 as the Casa Museu Pare Ginard.
In 2015 a renewal of the displays turned it into the Museu de la Paraula, devoted to the oral heritage of Mallorca that Ginard collected in works such as the “Cançoner Popular de Mallorca” (Popular Songbook of Mallorca) and the “Calendari Folklòric de Mallorca” (Folklore Calendar of Mallorca). Its collection is intangible: songs, glosses, codolades, ballads and other texts passed down orally.
The route combines, room by room, the architecture of the house, a selection from the songbook illustrated with old photographs of Sant Joan, and a mobile app with an audio guide in four languages, the voices of glossers and augmented reality that brings the author back into each room. In Ginard's former bedroom, contributions by the illustrator Margalida Vinyes and several poets and glossers respond to the songbook.
Highlights
- Oral culture of Mallorca: glosses, codolades and ballads from the “Cançoner Popular”
- Nineteenth-century farmhouse with blood mill, wine press and cistern
- Old photographs of everyday life in Sant Joan
- Mobile app with audio guide and augmented reality
- Ginard's room with contributions from poets and illustrators
Permanent exhibition
- Museu de la Paraula: cultura oral de Mallorca – Route through the rooms of the house with a selection from the popular songbook, old photographs of Sant Joan, audio guide and augmented reality.
- Founded
- 2007
- Operated by
- Fundació Mallorca Literària (Consell de Mallorca)
Admission & discounts
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Accessibility
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Kids & families
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Getting there & parking
By public transit
Parada de autobús en la plaça Joan Carles I · 5-min walk
TIB bus (Transports de les Illes Balears), line 442 Sant Joan–Sineu, with a stop at plaça Joan Carles I, a 5-minute walk from the house. By train, to Sineu station and a bus connection to the village.
By car from Palma: the MA-15 motorway towards Manacor, exit 4 Montuïri, and the MA-3230 road to Sant Joan. From Manacor: MA-15 towards Palma, exit 2 Vilafranca, and the MA-3222 road. From Inca: the MA-3240 road towards Sineu and the MA-3130 to Sant Joan.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
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Events & venue rental
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Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Audio guide | yes (CA, ES, EN, DE) |
| Good to know | Self-guided with mobile app (audio guide, voices of glossers and augmented reality). Guided visits by prior booking. |
