Ibizology

This time we delve deeper into Elmyr de Hory's life and art as I speak to the renowned art historian, Jeffrey Taylor, who has a particular interest in art forgery. He has studied Elmyr’s life, debunking some of the claims made by Elmyr about his background, and paying close attention to his art. We also discuss how he successfully eluded the authorities for so many years and the secrets to his suc...

Elmyr de Hory, perhaps the twentieth century’s greatest art forger, lived in Ibiza from 1961 until his suicide in 1976. Uncovering the truth about Elmyr is difficult – the more you dig into his history the more impenetrable it becomes. For Elmyr, being gay and Jewish made life difficult in post-war Europe. Globe-trotting Elmyr settled in Ibiza in 1961 until his suicide in 1976 when facing extradit...

Up in the wild hills above Santa Agnes in the north of Ibiza dwells an extraordinary musician and instrument-maker. Pere Verges welcomed me into his primitive finca one summer evening and talked to me about his life and philosophy. During the recording he plays a selection of his unusual and unique stringed and woodwind instruments. As you’ll hear, some of the sounds are like nothing you’re likely...

In the previous episode of Ibizology I introduced you to the Irish writer Damien Enright. He told us his story of life in Ibiza in the 1960s centred around the bohemian Domino Bar in La Marina. Damien was a free spirit and ended up doing a drugs run to Turkey. Returning to the Spanish border, disaster struck as customs officials began dismantling his VW campervan, which was stuffed full of marajua...

Writer Damien Enright first set foot in Ibiza in the early 1960s and fell straight in with the bohemian, hedonistic, international crowd centred around the Domino bar next to the port in La Marina. Free-thinking Damien had many adventures, including a failed dope-smuggling run from Turkey to Ibiza, which form the basis of his novel Dope in the Age of Innocence. The book is now being turned into a...

In this episode you will meet Canon Francisco Torres Peters – Rector of San Antonio and keeper of the diocesan archive next to Ibiza cathedral in Dalt Vila. He is an expert in church history and the perfect person to describe the development of Christianity here. At the end of the interview Canon Peters shows us some important pieces in the museum including a relic believed to be a piece of the tr...

The Ibizan social anthropologist, Joan Costa Bonet, has begun an ambitious project to map and classify all the roads, tracks and paths on the island. You might be surprised to hear that Ibiza currently has no comprehensive survey or map of its routes. Islanders have always relied on local knowledge, rather than anything written, to define limits of land ownership plus public and private rights of...

The historian and writer, Emily Kaufman, has brought Ibiza’s history to life for English-speakers through many magazine articles and her much-loved book, A History Buff’s Guide to Ibiza. Emily was born in New York city and grew up in Pennsylvania. She came to Spain on a gap year after university and that year became the rest of her life. Emily moved to Ibiza in 1984 where the great walls of Dalt V...

Ibizan archaeologist, Joan Roig, takes us on a tour of the Ca Na Negreta bypass excavation near Ibiza Town. Earlier in the summer his team uncovered an inscribed Roman tombstone, a Byzantine settlement and Punic vineyards. Later Joan describes the pleasures and torments of professional archaeology.

The Ibiza-based artist Charlotte Mensforth has had an adventurous life to say the least. She grew up near London in the Second World War, trained there, and then travelled Europe, eventually meeting the novelist Jack Beeching. Jack had lived in Formentara and St Vicente, Ibiza, and his first wife wrote the excellent book “A Valley Wide”, published by Martin Davies of Barbary Press. Charlotte and J...

Santi Ribas will be Ibiza’s last lighthouse keeper when his compañero retires. Like his father before him, Santi cares for dozens of lighthouses and buoys around Ibiza and Formentera. Meeting at Botafoch lighthouse where he lives, Santi tells us about his life, work, and history before we tour the lighthouse. Photography by Karmen Savisto @carmenconkphotography

Toni Manonelles is a true Ibizologist. He has made it his life’s work to investigate and understand the traditional rural culture and way of life here. Toni celebrates and promotes Ibizan country dancing and music and has just published a book which digs deep into its origins and meanings. In this interview Toni describes how moving, as a child, to the countryside made him want to understand and a...

Rolf Blakstad heads the famous Ibizan architect company Blakstad Design Consultants. Like his father before him, Rolf champions the traditional design of Ibizan fincas. You can see many beautiful examples of Blakstad renovations and new builds all over Ibiza and further afield. In this podcast Rolf describes how Ibizan finca design has remained essentially unchanged since the time of the Phoenicia...

In this episode I interview Martin Davies, Ibizologist and owner of the Ibizan publishing house Barbary Press http://www.liveibiza.com/ibiza_literature/barbary_history.htm Martin explains why he came to the island and how he got into publishing. He has published seven books on Ibiza with an eighth – “Voyage and Discovery” by Conor O’Brien due out in May or June. The podcast is illustrated by Lizzi...