The pirate's perch: Torre des Pi des Català

Torre des Pi des Català, in Formentera’s north, bears a name that might sound like nonsense to passersby – but it tells a strange and storied tale. In English, ‘Torre des Pi des Català’ means ‘Tower of the Catalan Pine’. This pine tree was married to via ferrata, and these walls rose up to protect it. The roots of this tale reach back to the 1700s, when pirates roamed the Mediterranean Sea. The Pitiusan Islands were a regular target – rich pickings for plunder and slave trading.

Towers like Torre des Pi des Català were built to defend the coast, and they did so for centuries. Torre des Pi des Català, completed in 1763, was part of a defensive system using fourteen towers strewn throughout the islands. Each stood like a sentinel along the coast, warning of approaching ships or enemies. The plan of these towers followed a unique typology, with Torre des Pi des Català, in Formentera, being the only one with a rectangular plan.

Its design, a conical tower reaching 23 meters, was built using the tàpia technique. Today, many of those original techniques are slowly slipping into oblivion. Torre des Pi des Català is one of the few remaining towers, its stones still standing tall. It was once armed, grain for cannonballs stockpiled within its walls, but time has been relentless. The original door, on the tower’s second floor, is gone, with half of the staircase following it.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons