The Balearic Mathematics Society SBM-EQUIS is reviving the activity of observing the light phenomenon that coincides with the winter solstice in La Seu de Mallorca. This can be seen from the Baluard de Sant Pere, on the terraces of Es Baluard Museu, at sunrise. The appointment is on 17th December from 7:30 am.

Es Baluard Museu organises the contemplation of this phenomenon that takes place in the month of December and that allows contemplating the sunrise through the two rose windows of the Seu -the main rose window and the rose window of the main façade-, thus creating a kind of giant kaleidoscope of light and colour. Once this lighting effect has been viewed, the lecture “Form, beauty and function of mathematics in architecture” will be given by Professor Encarnación Reyes. It will take place in the Aljibe of Es Baluard Museu. The talk will highlight the link between mathematics and architectural creation, corroborating the presence, involvement and usefulness of geometry in architectural projects and artistic designs, from classical antiquity to the present day.

From the most ancient constructions in the Romanesque churches and medieval Gothic cathedrals, the symmetry, proportion and perspective of the Renaissance, the Baroque domes, to modern architecture and the architectural avant-garde of the 21st century, it can be corroborated that mathematics has had an indisputable influence on architectural composition and creation. Thus, the lecture will take a mathematical journey that will focus fundamentally on the Cathedral of Mallorca, with a few other looks at other geometric motifs in the architecture of the Balearic Islands. The function, beauty and form that connect these two disciplines, architecture and mathematics, will allow us to visualise and enjoy with the eyes of a mathematical tourist the geometric and constructive characteristics of the imposing Mallorcan Seu and other places on the islands.

Es Baluard Museu

Es Baluard Museu. Photo: Social media.

Timetable for observing the winter solstice

  •  7:30 h Opening of the museum doors.
  • 8:00 h Concentration at the Baluard de Sant Pere.
  • 8:15 h Observation of the light phenomenon from the terraces of Es Baluard Museu.
  • 8:30 h Lecture “Form, beauty and function of mathematics in architecture” by María Encarnación Reyes Iglesias (Aljibe). Free activity with registration to attend the conference at this link.
The luminous effect of the solstice was discovered, studied and disseminated by the Balearic Society of Mathematics SBM-XEIX, which since 2007, brings together followers around the phenomenon, with the aim of disseminating mathematical knowledge.