A castle that split a Spanish town

The Castillo de la Villa, or Fortaleza Baja, has stood over Spain’s Martos since the 13th century. To the untrained eye, it’s just the king’s fortress, a sturdy remnant of indelible historical power. The buildings around its base bear its name, plazas and streets as well, but the Castillo de la Villa is more than a name. Over the years, it’s served as a labyrinth, a spy network, a science project, and a sanctuary. To understand it, we have to dig beneath the surface. The hill it sits on originally housed the 4th-century city of Tucci, and over time it was renamed and rebuilt to serve as both a military outpost and a nunnery. Today, the castle is in the process of being restored under the auspices of the ‘Centro de Interpretación Cultural e Histórico de Martos’, <existing_interest: Architecture and design>.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons