A 18th century fortress on a small rock at l'Ampolla beach in Moraira. The Bourbon's royal coat of arms is over the entrance door, and it gives the date of 1742 which should indicate the year the construction work was completed. However their do not appear to be any records to confirm this date. There is evidence that the "Castillo de Moraira" was planned by Juan Bautista Antonelli within the overall fortification scheme developed by Felipe II to protect the coast from the Barbary invaders in the 16th century but, according to a plaque at the entrance, it was finished as late as 1742.
The Castillo de Moraira was built protect the town against the endemic Berber pirate attacks along this coast. The shape of the building is known as a pezuña de buey (ox hoof) - with a semicircular southern face and a straight northern face with the gate.
Inside there are three wings and two floors. The castle is 10 metres high. A lookout was kept from small slits in the walls, and cannons were mounted in the gun ports around the top of the castle. It is known that it was armed with four bronze cannons, and that it was badly damaged by the British navy on July 20th 1801.
The castle was completely restored at the beginning of the 1980s, and is in good shape today
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