Even if it sounds similar to the word “campana” (EN. Bell), the name Campanet does not originate from it, but from the latin word “capanna” and from the arabic plural “kapanät”, which means “group of huts”. This name indicates that there must have been settler since prehistoric times.
The town Campanet, as well as the small town Ullaró, was part of the “jus” (Arabian part) from Inca during the islamic occupation. Campanet was also the part of the town around which the medieval part grew. This part developed along the different mountains, this is why the town has a longish appearance.
In Jaume I’s book on the division of the island after the Catalan conquest, Campanet appears as a town of 2,045 km².
Campanet, together with the towns of Ullaró, Búger and Sa Pobla built an only parish, and was part of the kingly part of the Lords from Barcelona.
The first church was built in Pla de Tel, and probably over an older construction. It is the present-day Sant Miquel Church, close to the caves. This church formed the parish from the year 1248, year in which Campanet appears in the bull from Pope Innocent IV, until the year 1315, year in which the church was taken over by the town of Sa Pobla. The parish belonged again to Campanet from 1368 to 1425, year in which the parish moved to the present-day church.
These blows of fate were the same as the ones of the town. The town foundation politics established by King Jaume II. made Campanet part of Sa Pobla. After many tensions and requests from the judges from Campanet, the town of Campanet, together with Ullaró and Búger, became independent from Sa Pobla thanks to the issuance of King Pere el Cerimoniós. An independent church was also recognised during the same process. The last change of the town was in 1823, year in which Búger became independent from Campanet.
The present-day church was built on an older one and it was dedicated to Immaculate Conception. The construction began in 1717, when Miquel Martí Tamorer was the priest - his sepulture is inside the church - and finished in 1774, after several stops in the construction.
Until the 1940s Campanet based its economy on agriculture. In 1945 the shoe business achieved its peak in Campanet. In that year 422000 pairs of shoes were made for Mallorca, Cuba and the military.
Today most Campaneters work in the building industry, in the tourism branch in Alcudia or in industrial services in Inca and Palma.
Social life is quite active in Campanet, and the main square (Plaça Major) is a crowded meeting place during the summer season.
If you have a walk around the town, you will recognise some examples of stately homes, but also of traditional architecture. Some examples of old manors are: the House Massana (Plaça Major 7), which has two Renaissance windows, the House Biniatró (Carrer de Sant Miquel 20), Can Ferrer Nou (cantó des Càrritx 21), Can Muntaner (cantó des Càrritx 27), Ca n'Arnavet (carrer de la Creu 34) and many more. Different plates also indicate other monuments, such as the house from the writer and humanist Llorenç Riber i Campins (Carrer Major 27) or the birthplace of the writer and journalist Miquel dels Sants Oliver (Carrer de Miquels dels Sants Oliver 14). They both are honorary citizens of Campanet.