Deià is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and small coastal village in the

Serra de Tramuntana The Serra de Tramuntana (, es, Sierra de Tramontana) is a mountain range running southwest–northeast which forms the northern backbone of the Spanish island of Mallorca. It is also the name given to the comarca of the same area. On 27 June 201 ...

, which forms the northern ridge of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

island of

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

. It is located about north of

Valldemossa Valldemossa is a village and municipality on the island of Majorca, part of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is famous for one landmark: the Royal Charterhouse of Valldemossa, built at the beginning of the 14th cent ...

, and it is known for its literary and musical residents. Its idyllic landscape, orange and olive groves on steep cliffs overlooking the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

, served as a draw for German, English, and American expatriates after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The English poet, novelist, and scholar

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celtic ...

was one of the first foreigners to settle in the village, where he collaborated with

Laura Riding Laura Riding Jackson (born Laura Reichenthal; January 16, 1901 – September 2, 1991), best known as Laura Riding, was an American poet, critic, novelist, essayist and short story writer. Early life She was born in New York City to Nathan ...

in setting up the

Seizin Press The Seizin Press was a small press, founded in 1927 by Laura Riding and Robert Graves in London from 1928 until 1935. From 1930 it was based in Majorca. Besides work by Graves and Riding, the Seizin Press published works by Gertrude Stein, Len L ...

. Graves returned after the war and remained in Deià until his death. He used the town as the setting for many of his stories, including the historical novel ''Hercules my Shipmate''. His house is now a museum.

Anaïs Nin Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell (February 11, 1903 – January 14, 1977; , ) was a French-born American diarist, essayist, novelist, and writer of short stories and erotica. Born to Cuban parents in France, Nin was the d ...

visited the village in the 1920s, and she wrote a short story set on the village's beach. The Spanish writer,

Carme Riera Carme Riera Guilera (; born 12 January 1948) is a novelist and essayist. She has also written short stories, scripts for radio and television and literary criticism. She holds a doctorate in Hispanic Philology and is a professor of Spanish liter ...

, recently wrote a short story about Nin's. The town is also the unnamed setting of the Uruguayan novelist

Cristina Peri Rossi Cristina Peri Rossi (born 12 November 1941) is a Uruguayan novelist, poet, translator, and author of short stories. Considered a leading light of the post-1960s period of prominence of the Latin-American novel, she has written more than 37 work ...

's ''The Ship of Fools'' (''La nave de los locos''). The Nicaraguan poet and novelist,

Claribel Alegría Clara Isabel Alegría Vides (May 12, 1924 – January 25, 2018), also known by her pseudonym Claribel Alegría, was a Nicaraguan-Salvadoran poet, essayist, novelist, and journalist who was a major voice in the literature of contemporary Central Am ...

, lived in Deià.

Anja Rubik Anja Rubik (born Anna Helena Rubik; 12 June 1983)Statement on talk-show ''Kuba Wojewódzki'' (in Polish) of the 23 March 2010. is a Polish supermodel, activist, philanthropist and entrepreneur. She is one of the most prominent models of the 20th ...

married fellow model Sasha Knezevic in this village in July 2011. In recent decades, the stars of literature have been eclipsed by the stars of rock and roll. The

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

mogul

Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British billionaire, entrepreneur, and business magnate. In the 1970s he founded the Virgin Group, which today controls more than 400 companies in various fields. Branson expressed ...

has a luxury residence in the town, and his label's stars have often visited the village and sometimes jammed at the local bar, Sa Fonda. Deià was home to several Canterbury-scene musicians over the years, including

Kevin Ayers Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely assoc ...

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming para ...

, and

Daevid Allen Christopher David Allen (13 January 1938 – 13 March 2015), known professionally as Daevid Allen, sometimes credited as Divided Alien, was an Australian musician. He was co-founder of the psychedelic rock groups Soft Machine (in the UK, 1966) ...

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

, guitarist

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a s ...

, and

Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

played there often in the late 1980s, as did

Caroline Corr Caroline Georgina Corr MBE (born 17 March 1973), known to fans as the "Chick with the Stick", is an Irish singer and drummer for the Celtic folk rock band The Corrs. In addition to the drums, Corr plays the ''bodhrán'', ''cajón'', percussions ...

. Much of

Fionn Regan Fionn Regan (born 1981) is an Irish folk musician and singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Bray, Regan came to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, '' The End of History'' in 2006. He had been releasing extended plays for six ...

's third studio album, ''

100 Acres of Sycamore ''100 Acres of Sycamore'' is the third studio album by Irish singer-songwriter Fionn Regan, released on 8 August 2011 on Heavenly Records. Unlike Regan's previous album, ''The Shadow of an Empire'', which featured mostly rock music, rock and ro ...

'' was inspired by his time spent in Deià.

References

External links

Deià tourist guide and informationDeia Info
Website of Deià
Deià by MallorcaWebFundació Robert Graves"Official website for 'La Casa de Robert Graves' in Deia, Majorca. Robert Graves Foundation"
Municipalities in Mallorca Populated places in Mallorca {{Balearics-geo-stub