Defense tower FROM THE 16TH CENTURY

The Tower of Santiago

The Tower of Santiago is one of the best preserved of the 43 defense towers, of the now disappeared orchard of Alicante, that were built to protect against attacks by Berber pirates. Currently there are 25 standing, distributed throughout the municipalities of Alicante, San Juan, Muchamiel and El Campello. It is located in La Albufereta a few meters from the Lucentum TRAM stop. Declared as a Monument of Cultural Interest.

It was in ruins until 1982

Rebuilt in 1983 from its ruins since all that was left of it were three of the four ashlar corners as in the photograph. Attached to the tower was built the residential house that currently has all the comforts that modern life demands.Work on cleaning the site and classifying the stones took weeks. Restored completely with mostly the original stone (although more had to be brought in to complete the building), it is the common element both of the exterior facade and interior walls.

The environment

In an environment like no other, just a few minutes walk from the Albufereta beach in Alicante.

Modern times, but architecture of the XVI century.

The entire building has beams, and window grills (some of these very ancient made of solid wrought iron and obviously handmade) making the whole building in keeping with its antiquity.

Passionate about the conservation of our heritage and our culture

It took almost twelve years to complete this restoration, having to search for adequate elements in order to keep to the aesthetic character of the original tower, in salvage and reclamation yards as far apart as in the towns of Llorca (Murcia) and Benissa (Alicante) and reconstructing in a manual and artisan manner, using Pullies and ropes and ramps for raising heavy stones as there was no motorised equipment on hand, as there was no electricity. This restoration was the dream of an artist and its creator, Mr. Pedro Guillena Gomez, passionate about Spanish culture and patrimony, dedicated many years to recreate this building, part of the history of Alicante, in a way that it has come to be considered as one of the best conserved defense towers within the “ Huerta of Alicante”. In his own words Pedro said, “Every corner, every detail fills our retina with memories of how it all came to be, with patience, little by little, stone upon stone, with our hands and our own effort”. And so it came to be, an historical monument and a comfortable home, for Pedro and his family.

Last posts of Faceebook

Any question?

Send us an email and we will answer your question as soon as possible. Thank you. E-mail

Where we are...

Are there events on that place?

At the moment it is a private property. Public events are not taking place here.

Was this Tower always like this?

No, Mr. Pedro Guillena Gómez rebuilt it in the 20th century towards the end of the 80s from its ruins.

Can it be rented?

Currently it is for private use and its owners live in it, although it is not ruled out that in the future it may be available for that use or others.

Is this a defense tower or watchtower?

This is a defense tower of the orchard of Alicante, declared a Site of Cultural Interest as an historical-artistic monument. Heritage of the city.