Del Moro Tower

Del Moro Tower, locally known as Torre del Moro or Torre del Cabo Cervera, lies in a small park on a hill next to the sea, in the town of Torrevieja 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.

Del Moro Tower was probably built, during the second half of the 16th century, upon the remains of an earlier tower, dating back to the 14th century. The present tower however is a result of a complete reconstruction in 1994 of the 16th century tower. It doesn't look anything like the original tower that existed before that reconstruction, which had no crenelations and a spiral outer staircase up to its top.

At present the exterior of Del Moro Tower can freely be visited. The interior of the tower was closed when I came by, I do not know if it is ever open. It looks way too modern for my liking. It is a shame that the original tower was lost because of the reconstruction.

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