Forgotten Medieval Castle Ruins in Balones, Spain: A Tumultuous Past

The castell de Seta, a medieval castle in ruins, is a forgotten relic standing atop a hill in the Spanish town of Balones. Built in the 11th century, the castle is of Muslim origin and has a walled perimeter of a polygonal plant, with six quadrangular towers built in tamped masonry. Two towers located at the top of the fortification were built in Christian times over the old Muslim towers. One of the towers shaped like a semicircle is 8 meters high, being the highest point in the castle’s height. A quadrangular enclosure is adjoined to the semicircular tower, where probably the old church of Sant Francesc was located. The castell de Seta and the castell of Xeroles were sold on 22 May 1258 to Golzalvo Ferrández de Medrano for 1200 besants. However, Jaume I gave Bella and her son Roger de Llúria the properties of the castell de Xeroles and Seta as hereditary fief on 6 March 1270.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons