Felipes turques, sweet tradition and the memory of Ciutadella in 1558

Among the Menorcan sweets with the strongest historical associations are the felipes turques, traditional sweets which, according to local tradition, take their name from King Philip II and inevitably lead us back to one of the most dramatic episodes in the history of Ciutadella.

A felipa turca consists of a small sweet tart shell filled with almond tortada and crowned with a generous mound of white meringue, rising upwards and ending in a pointed tip. It is precisely this shape of the meringue, visually reminiscent of domes in Islamic architecture, that is traditionally said to explain the word “turques”. The almond tortada filling is no coincidence: made with almonds, sugar and eggs, it is one of the great foundations of Menorcan sweet-making and appears in several traditional sweets from the island.

The name has traditionally been associated with Philip II and with the Ottoman attack on Ciutadella in 1558. That summer, a powerful fleet commanded by Piali Pasha attacked the town which, after days of resistance, was stormed, looted and left almost depopulated. Thousands of people from Ciutadella were killed or taken into captivity, in the episode remembered in local tradition as s’Any de sa Desgràcia, “the Year of Misfortune”.

Philip II was away from his Iberian kingdoms at the time, while his sister, Joanna of Austria, was carrying out governing duties. Documents produced after the attack show her involvement in measures intended to help rebuild and restore Ciutadella, including privileges and actions aimed at encouraging its repopulation.

Felipes turques are therefore much more than a tart shell filled with almond tortada and topped with meringue. They are among those Menorcan sweets in which local confectionery seems to have preserved, through both name and shape, part of Ciutadella’s historical memory.