The Torre de Cope, also known as Santo Cristo, is a watchtower situated in the municipality of Águilas in the Región de Murcia. It is located north of cabo Cope, along the seashore, within the limits of the Cabo Cope and Puntas de Calnegre regional park. The tower is classified as a Bien de Interés Cultural (BIC).
The tower dates back to the 16th century and was built by the Council of Lorca due to frequent attacks by pirates and raiders against the local fishers and shepherds. In 1539, King Carlos I ordered the Council of Lorca to construct a tower in Cope. In 1568, Vespasiano I Gonzaga was commissioned to inspect and design fortifications for the coast of the Kingdom of Murcia, the Kingdom of Valencia, and the African ports of Oran and Mazalquivir.
Accompanied by the military engineer Juan Bautista Antonelli, Gonzaga supervised the expansion and completion of the Torre de Cope, which finished in 1574. From that point on, a permanent group of around three or four people watched and guarded from the tower. Restoration work took place between 1990 and 1991, involving both the Torre de Cope and the Torre de Santa Isabel as part of an agreement between the Region of Murcia and the INEM. The budget for the restoration of both towers reached 6,250,393 pesetas.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
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