South along Carrer del Temple you run into another church, the largely baroque Església de Sant Jeroni (Plaça de Sant Jeroni), part of a convent complex founded in the 15th century. If you manage to get inside (the convent is still home to a handful of cloistered nuns) you will be able to see its Gothic cloister. The church faces the Antic Col·legi de la Sapiença, a still functioning seminary across a quiet, narrow square. One block further east and you strike a portion of the Arab city wall (with some heavy blocks from the Roman wall at the base), beyond which is a park named after the city gate that once stood here: Porta d’es Camp (Gate of the Countryside). The Muslims knew it as Bab al-Jadid (the New Gate).
The Knights Templar who had accompanied Jaume I were granted the right to occupy an Arab fortress known as the Almudaina Gumara at the eastern edge of Palma de Mallorca. The extent towers mark what was the inner gate into the fort from the city. The knights were unceremoniously expelled in 1307 and the property taken over by the Knights of St John. In 1811 the monastery and chapel were taken over by the city and for more than 100 years most of it has been occupied by a home for disadvantaged children.
Stroll through the gate (which is due to be restored) and down a quiet lane, flanked by high walls, behind which you can see tree tops. At the end of the lane is the atrium of an early Gothic chapel the Templars built. You can, on occasion, wander through the external Romanesque entrance (although everyone will tell you there is nothing Romanesque on the island) to inspect the Gothic chapel entrance (also with Romanesque elements, like the columns). Inside is an explanatory display on the history of what is simply known as the Temple . Getting into the chapel itself is a matter of luck – generally it is closed. If you manage it, you can admire two Romanesque side chapels on either side as you enter. Following on from them is a beguilingly simple, early Gothic single nave.
