From Vicente Alberti to the present day, the history
The history of this place is unique. It begins with Vicente Alberti Vidal, whose family origins in Menorca date back to the 16th century.
Vicente Diego Alberti Mercadal, our character’s great-grandfather, was knighted and ennobled in 1711. The coat of arms still dominates the balcony of the façade of the hotel.
He was followed by generations of illustrious notables in the island, doctors, politicians and military officers. A man of literature and speaker of several classical and modern languages, Vicente Alberti Vidal would remain the reference in this field in Menorca in the 18th century and would have elevated the Menorcan language to the status of a literary language.
Vicente Alberti's work is significant not for his original plays, which were not particularly important in the pre-Romantic period, but for his adaptations and translations of works by 18th-century European authors such as Goldoni, Metastasio and Molière. Above all, Alberti considered the theatre to be an essential vector of culture and refinement. He made an important contribution to the Europeanisation of society at the time of the Enlightenment in Mahon.
Around the year 2000, Can Alberti passed into the hands of a group of friends who shared different artistic disciplines: photography, design, architecture, and who transformed Can Alberti into a guesthouse, opening its doors to the public. In a way, they were following the legacy of our protagonist Alberti.
Since 2016, under the impetus of its new owners who are very open to the artistic and cultural world, this residence has been entirely restored while meticulously respecting the spirit that makes it so unique.
Our vocation: perpetuating tradition
Faithful to the spirit of Vicente Alberti Vidal and the many artists and men of letters who have stayed or worked in this unique residence, we wish to perpetuate the tradition of a space open to the artistic world by organising exhibitions of modern and contemporary art with the support of galleries.