Santa María de las Nieves

Patroness of Ibiza and Formentera · Cathedral of Eivissa

From the top of Dalt Vila, the Eivissa Cathedral guards Santa María de las Nieves, patron of Ibiza and Formentera, whose advocation recalls the Catalan conquest of the island in 1235.

Origin and history

The Cathedral of Ibiza, on the top of Dalt Vila, is dedicated to Santa María la Mayor, that is, to the Virgin of the Snow, patron of Ibiza and Formentera. The reason for this advocation is linked to the Catalan conquest of Ibiza in 1235: the feast of the Virgin of the Snow on August 5 was the Marian feast closest to August 8, the date of the conquest, and the conquerors wanted to dedicate a church to the Virgin to commemorate it. In the same temple it venerates San Ciriaco, whose day is August 8 and which shares the patronage of the island.

More than a legend of apparition, its origin is a liturgical-historical motivation: to take as a patron the Virgin of the Snow, of Santa Maria the Major of Rome, associating it to the effemeride of conquest. Devotion has a strong identity and festive character: on August 5 the great feast of the island is celebrated, with seasonal mass and procession in the cathedral. The name (Mary, Neus) is very common among the ibicenca.

Canonical coronation: not found in the sources.