Torre de la Plaça - Surprising interior structure

The torre de la Plaça de Benifaió, a construction from the xi and xiii centuries of Islamic architecture, is situated in the center of the population. It was once part of the defensive belt of the city of Valencia and served as a refuge for the inhabitants of nearby alqueries, a granary, and a prison. The width of the tower at the bottom is about eleven meters on each of the four sides. It has a total of four floors with a total height of approximately 23 meters.

The upper part is crowned by seven merlons on each side. The outer walls contain loopholes and windows to illuminate the three upper floors. The lintel and the muntins of the entrance were made with monolithic blocks of limestone.

In the interior, four parallel walls are raised between which there is the staircase of high steps. The internal vaults of the different floors were built with hoops of cane and mud, of which remains still exist. The first floor has a barrel vault and no windows in the walls. The second floor has a barrel vault divided into four sections, solved with arches made of brick that turn with the vault. The third floor is similar to the second in terms of layout and dimensions, but the vaults and corresponding arches turn in the opposite direction.

The fourth floor is formed by arches that start from the corners of the central nucleus, but with the particularity of having four other arches, eight in total, covering each with a different barrel vault. This architectural solution produces a greater compartmentalization of the space, offering a surprising depth in a room of such reduced measurements.

The restoration of the torre de la Plaça (1994-1996) meant the definitive valuation of this emblematic construction, after the year 1978 it was separated from the old building. It is now only united to the house-palace of the Falcó, barons of Benifaió, with which it forms the old seigneurial fortification.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons