Cabo Roig Tower

Cabo Roig Tower, locally known as Torre de Cabo Roig, lies on a hill next to harbor of the town of Cabo Roig in the province of Alicante in Spain.

Ever since the Turkish settlement in Algiers in 1516, the entire coast of the Spanish Mediterranean was threatened by attacks of Barbary pirates who landed on the coast and ravaged and looted towns and rural settlements, taking away the inhabitants as slaves. So, in 1552, during the reign of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, lots of defensive watchtowers were started being built along the coast, from Alicante down to Cádiz. Most however were built or completed during the reign of his son, Philip II of Spain, during the second half of the 16th century.

Cabo Roig Tower was built in the second half of the 16th century but probably had an Arabic predecessor. Its whitewash exterior is not original but the result of a restoration.

At present Cabo Roig Tower is on the grounds of a restaurant. This was closed when I came by. I guess it maybe can be visited as a guest of the restaurant. It looks interesting.

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