Torremuelle, Torre Bermeja et Torrequebrada : l’histoire derrière ces tours de guet qui se dressent encore sur la côte
Torre Bermeja, the watchtower at the entrance to Puerto Marina, is set to be restored over the coming months. The work is valued at €375,000, with an eight-month execution period. It’s a good excuse to tell the story of the three towers that have watched over the Benalmádena coast for six hundred years: Torremuelle, Torre Bermeja, and Torrequebrada.
All three are declared Bien de Interés Cultural (BIC), the highest level of heritage protection that exists in Spain. And each tells, in its own way, the same story: that of a coastline that for centuries had to watch over itself.
Torre Bermeja: the most photographed, at the harbour entrance
Of the three, Torre Bermeja is the most recognisable. It stands in a small landscaped square at the end of Avenida Alay, right at the entrance to Puerto Marina, close to Sea Life. Its name comes from the reddish, « bermejo », colour of the rocky ground it stands on, at Punta del Saltillo.
Its origin is Nasrid, somewhere between the 13th and 15th centuries depending on the source. It was part of a coastal watch network that communicated with the Torre de Pimentel in Torremolinos and with Torrequebrada tower, using fire and smoke signals to warn of enemy vessels off the coast of what was then the Kingdom of Granada.
The tower we see today isn’t exactly the original. In 1567 it was rebuilt by the mason Pedro de la Chica, and that 16th-century reconstruction is what has survived to today: a cylindrical structure of masonry and brick, with a conical base designed to resist the wind, and a double crowning cornice added later.
The construction of the marina, decades later, completely changed the tower’s relationship with the coastline it once watched over alone. Today it coexists with boat traffic, terraces, and the promenade, but it still stands in the exact same spot from which it had watched the sea for centuries.
Torremuelle: the oldest, above a Roman anchorage
Torremuelle is probably the tower with the longest history of the three, though not in its current form. The site was an anchorage since Phoenician and later Roman times: the underwater remains preserved in the area, alongside those of the nearby Villa Mauritania, confirm it. During road-widening works in the area, remains of a Roman villa dedicated to oil and salted-fish production surfaced.
The tower that now gives its name to the whole Torremuelle development was rebuilt in the early 16th century, as part of the coastal watch system organised after the Christian conquest of Benalmádena. It has a truncated conical shape, rises from a circular base almost 24 metres in perimeter, and sits on a mound overlooking two small coves, with a clear line of sight to Castillo El Bil-Bil.
Like the other two, it’s a BIC. In recent years it has received conservation work focused on lighting, after the lack of light around it encouraged vandalism in the area.
Torrequebrada: the tower that named an entire neighbourhood
Of the three, Torrequebrada is the one that has most shaped the identity of a part of Benalmádena: it gives its name to an entire development, with its own golf course and its own casino, though few current residents know where the name comes from.
Its history is the most turbulent of the three towers. Also Nasrid in origin, from the 13th or 14th century, it fell into disrepair in the early 16th century, was rebuilt, and by the middle of that same century was already in ruins again. It was ordered rebuilt once more in 1567, the same year Torre Bermeja was rebuilt, a coincidence that was probably no accident: both were part of the same defensive system, and it makes sense they’d be repaired in the same round of works.
Torre Quebrada, as it appears in old records, was part of the medieval Islamic watch network that marked this stretch of coastline, close to the Strait of Gibraltar and just a few kilometres from the African continent, one of the most sensitive points on the entire Andalusian coast for centuries.
What it means for all three to be BIC-protected
The Bien de Interés Cultural designation, governed by Spain’s Ley 16/1985 on historical heritage, is the highest legal protection a monument can receive in Spain. It doesn’t depend on a municipal ordinance or an urban plan that could be amended with relative ease: it’s a state-level protection, and any intervention on a BIC, including its restoration, requires oversight from Andalusia’s regional heritage authorities and specialised technicians, as is happening right now with Torre Bermeja.
The three towers have stood in the exact same spot for centuries. They survived the Reconquista, Barbary piracy, and neglect, and now coexist with a coastline completely transformed by tourism and construction. Whatever the next decade holds for Benalmádena, these three towers will, in all likelihood, still be standing exactly where they are.
If you’re interested in Benalmádena’s history and heritage, or simply want to get to know the area better before deciding where to buy or sell, let’s talk: +34 692 62 19 19.
