Cal Marquès del Reguer (Can Balaguer)

Description

The outer portal consists of a round arch. Originally, there used to be two lowered portals that connected with the courtyard. Nowadays, this courtyard features numerous shops. The entrance is covered by a woven ceiling. On the sides, we will find blind arches that are supported by ionic columns and capitals integrated into the walls, featuring coat of arms. Even though these coat of arms have been erased with time and are thus hardly recognisable, we can still identify the Gual-Sanglada family coat of arms, showing the typical knight helmet. A large, lowered arch connects the interior with the open, cobbled patio. After crossing the patio, we reach an area that is again covered by a woven ceiling. This is from where the staircase leads up to the three floors. At the top of the staircase, we find a dome with glass windows that dates back to the XVIIIth century. Before reaching the entrance to the upper floor, a headstone dedicated to the musician Josep Balaguer, who used to be the owner of the Casal, can be found.

Historical reference

This building is also known as Cal Marquès del Reguer i can Blanes. In the XVIth century, it was owned by the Sanglada family. In the XVIIIth century, the house was purchased by the Amar de Montaners (Marquess of Reguer). Shortly prior to his death in 1730, Mateu Gual-Sanglada had initiated the refurbishment of the house. After a lawsuit, the Marquess of Reguer settled down in the house. The second Marquess of Reguer, Josep Amar de Montaner i Sanglada, who died in 1775, sponsored a further refurbishment of the house. Mrs. Isabel Amar de Montaner, wife of the Count of San Simón, brought the house and the Reguer Marquess title into the marriage. By the middle of the XIXth century, Jordi de San Simon i Montaner, owner of the house at that time, sold the house to Antoni Blanes, a merchant from Artà who piled up a fortune by doing business in America. The Blanes family refurbished the building and covered two spans of the patio. Before that time it would have been the biggest in the city.