El Historical Archive of Ibiza and Formentera (AHEiF) is main institution dedicated to preserving, organizing and disseminating the documentary heritage of the Pitiusas Islands. Since 2008 it has been located in the Can Botino building, in dalt vila, although it was officially recognized in 1937 As the Historical Archive of Ibiza, its origin and collections have their roots several centuries ago.
The main core of its documentation comes from the former University of Ibiza and Formentera, an institution that became the City Council in 1724 following the Nueva Planta Decrees. In addition, there is the judicial documentation of the Curia of the Royal Government, the collections of the courts of instruction and first instance, as well as the notarial protocols, deposited in 2024. The oldest preserved document dates from 1373, although In the famous Book of Privileges, texts dating back to 1235 are copied., year of the Catalan conquest.
El The first official archivist was Isidor Macabich, a key figure in Ibizan culture, who held this position until 1970. Over the following decades, various specialists—such as Carme Balansat, Ernest Prats, and Conxa Calafat—worked on classifying the collections, although the lack of resources and the constant relocations made conservation difficult. 1987, with the incorporation by opposition of Fanny Tur Riera as director, a consolidation stage, with an archive model open to donations, legacies and new acquisitions.
That same year, a classification was established into 25 documentary sections, expanded to 26 in 2020, following standardized criteria. In 1989, new facilities were inaugurated in the former Dominican convent, where the Municipal Image and Sound Archive (AISME), a pioneer in the PitiusasIn the 1990s, transcripts of historical documents were published and, thanks to an agreement with the March Foundation, unique pieces such as the plan of Joan Ballester and Zafra (1738) were restored.
With the move to Can Botino in 2008, the archive opened a new headquarters and published its first institutional guide. Its departments include: historical documentation, the Municipal newspaper archive (whose inventory was published in 1987), the Image and Sound Archive, special collections, art collections and a specialized librarySince 2011, the digitization of a large portion of its collection has been promoted, making the AHEiF the public archive in the Balearic Islands with the largest volume of historical and journalistic documentation available online.
Today, in addition to safeguarding the written memory, the AHEiF manages cultural spaces such as el Refectory y It is Polvorí.
Recognized by the Balearic Islands Archives and Document Management Law (2022), the AHEiF organizes outreach activities such as International Archives Day and the Local Historical Memory Studies Conference.
