La Horadada Tower

La Horadada Tower, locally known as Torre de la Horadada, lies next to the sea, in the town of the same name 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.

La Horadada Tower was built in 1580, probably on the remains of an earlier tower. During the 19th century it was used as a signal tower for an optical telegraph. From 1905 until the present day it has been the property of the counts de Roche, who transformed it into their summer residence.

At present La Horadada Tower is private property and can not be visited, although it seemed like it was standing empty. Too bad, I like its appearance very much and would like to visit its interior. It can easily be seen from the public street and the beach.

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