Torre de la Malmuerta - Cordoba

The Torre de la Malmuerta in Cordoba, near the Plaza de Colón, is an albarrana tower shrouded in legend.

According to legend, the tower is named after the death of a noble Cordoban lady at the hands of her jealous husband.

Regardless of the myth, this tower was built in the 15th century on top of an earlier Islamic construction. It is connected to the wall by a semicircular arch, under which there is a legend with information about its construction. It is massive to the height of the arch, but from there it is hollow and houses some chambers from which a staircase leads to the platform.

Inside, several steps lead up to the parapet and on to the building's only hall , which is vaulted and open to the outside by embrasures.

The legend

The Legend of the Malmuerta Tower, also known as the Legend of the Commanders of Córdoba , is based on a historical event that took place in 1448 in the city of Córdoba. The protagonist was Fernando Alfonso de Córdoba, the twenty-fourth knight of the city, who killed his wife, Beatriz de Hinestrosa, and Jorge de Córdoba y Solier, commander of Cabeza del Buey, who had seduced her. He also killed Fernando Alfonso de Córdoba y Solier, brother of the former and commander of Moral; both brothers were knights of the Order of Calatrava and cousins of the murderer. Fernando Alfonso's revenge also affected other persons, including several of his servants and relatives.

Notwithstanding the above, the legend of the tower of the Malmuerta states, without any basis, that Fernando Alfonso of Córdoba killed his wife because he mistakenly believed her to be an adulteress, for which he, remorseful, asked forgiveness from King Juan II of Castile, who, according to legend , ordered him to build a tower in Córdoba in expiation for his crime , and the tower has since been called the Malmuerta. However, the tower of La Malmuerta was built between 1404 and 1408, during the reign of Henry III of Castile. The protagonist of the legend, Fernando Alfonso de Córdoba, died in 1478 in the city of Córdoba and was buried in the chapel of San Antonio Abad in the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba. The remains of his second wife, Constanza de Baeza y Haro, are also buried there.

Another legend, independent of the previous ones, states that if a horseman, passing under the arch of the tower at a gallop, can read the entire inscription, at that moment the tower collapses and a fabulous treasure emerges from its bowels and the property becomes of the lucky reader.

Willem Vandenameele