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Twin castles of Villena and Biar

Villena, L'Alt Vinalopó, Alicante

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Twin castles of Villena and Biar

Curiosity · Villena, L'Alt Vinalopó, Alicante

Image of Villena, not of the place itself.

The castles of the Atalaya of Villena and of Biar share ribbed Almohad vaults from the late 12th century, among the oldest of their kind in Spain and the Maghreb in military construction. The keep of the Atalaya, the most characteristic feature of the Villena castle, was raised in its first two levels using the Almohad rammed-earth (tapial) technique and was completed in the 15th century by order of Juan Pacheco. Its first-floor vault measures about seven by seven metres and forms an eight-pointed star with horseshoe arches; the second-floor vault has eleven similar ribs. The castle is already documented in 1172; both fortresses suffered damage during the Peninsular War, at the hands of Marshal Suchet, and the Atalaya was restored in 1958 and in 2000.

Photo: Qoan (Enrique Íñiguez Rodríguez) (CC BY 3.0)

What to see and do in Villena