Torre de la Illeta de l'Horta, Fortified tower in El Campello, Spain.
The Torre de la Illeta stands on a rocky promontory overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, featuring a truncated cone design with thick masonry walls and a single upper chamber covered by a hemispherical vault.
Built between 1554 and 1557 by order of Viceroy Bernardino de Cárdenas y Pacheco, this coastal watchtower served as part of a defensive network against Barbary pirate attacks along the Spanish coast.
Declared a Cultural Heritage Site in 1949 and restored in 1991, the tower represents the maritime defensive architecture of 16th-century Spain and serves as an emblematic symbol of El Campello municipality.
The tower is accessible via a modern metal staircase that replaced the original rope ladder, and its interior now functions as an exhibition space offering educational visits about local maritime history.
The structure maintains its original design with a molding that encircles the tower at one-third of its height, marking the transition from its solid base to the cylindrical upper section with defensive corbels.
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