The Forty Towers of Monte Hacho

High atop Monte Hacho, at an altitude of 190 meters and 800 meters from the urban center, sits the Fortaleza del Hacho. This military fortification covers an area of 10 hectares and serves as a barracks for anti-aircraft artillery. The site has an ancient origin, possibly Roman or Byzantine, and reached its greatest dimensions during the period of the Arab conquest.

In the mid-18th century, the current fortress was constructed based on a proposal by Juan Caballero. The project included forty circular towers, a new barracks for two hundred soldiers, and a powder magazine for two hundred quintals. During this time, five artillery bastions were built - San Antonio, San Amaro, Tenaza, Fuente Cubierta, and the gate of Málaga - each capable of housing four medium-sized cannons.

In 1870, the site became a prison for those sentenced to life imprisonment in Ceuta and other minor African prisons. Since then, the Hacho has been expanded with various enclosures to meet different needs. Today, though its function as a prison has ended, it remains a site of cultural interest and a protected monument.

The interior contains the Casa del Vigía, a prison-barracks with a cistern, a barracks building, and other minor structures. The fortified enclosure is composed of a set of towers, bastions, and stretches of wall that surround the site.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons