Towers

SANT LLUÍS

Defensive towers on the coast of Sant Lluís

The need to defend against frequent pirate and privateer attacks forced the inhabitants to build rural defense towers. In the year 1328, King Peter IV authorized through a royal charter the construction and fortification of rural defense towers to favor the settlement of an area highly exposed to external attacks. The municipality of Sant Lluís preserves numerous and beautiful examples of these medieval towers, which have given rise to legends about the heroic attitude of our ancestors. The first one that can be observed when arriving in Sant Lluís is the Binifadet tower, located in the hamlet of the same name and much older than the founding of the town. It has a house attached to it, which is why it does not appear as stylized as when it was built. Like the towers of Binibeca Nou and Torret, it has a square floor plan and features cornices at the top. The towers of "Rafalet Petit" and "Binibeca Vell" also have attached houses, although due to their typology, they do not have cornices or other defensive structures and seem to be of greater antiquity. The "Binissafúller d'en Ferrer" tower has a circular floor plan, is separated from the house, and also appears to be quite old. Several towers similar to those mentioned, however, have disappeared having been incorporated into the structure of houses built later. These are the towers of Alcaufar Vell, Torret de Dalt, Biniancolla, and the Torre Vella de Biniali, the thick walls of which betray their presence inside the houses. In addition to these medieval towers, Sant Lluís has another type of tower that had the mission of guarding and defending the coast. The twin towers of Punta Prima and Alcaufar present the characteristics typical of these more modern constructions; they are frustoconical, built with stone and agglomerate, voluminous and with large walls. Located near the coast, they were prepared to house a garrison with artillery pieces on their platform. The two towers were built by Spanish engineers between 1786 and 1787, shortly after the Spanish conquest of Menorca by the Duke of Crillon in 1782. The one at Punta Prima is currently a youth hostel, while the one at Alcaufar was restored in 1994. The "Grossa" watchtower was built on the lands of Torret on a gentle elevation that allowed for the surveillance of the territory while maintaining a certain distance from the sea. It is one of the oldest towers of this type on the island, as references to it already appeared in documents from the end of the 16th century.