Torre del Gerro - Denia

Torre del Gerro (the Tower of the Jug) is a 16th-century (built around 1552–1554) defensive and watchtower standing on the edge of the cliffs of the Montgó mountains .

The name Gerro means 'jug' or 'jar' in Valencian/Catalan. The tower owes this name to its distinctive, rounded shape, which is reminiscent of a large earthenware jug. The typical 'jug shape' (wider at the bottom and narrower towards the top) was not only aesthetic but also had a clever functional advantage. It made the tower considerably more robust and better able to withstand potential shelling from the sea, as well as the strong gusts of wind that can rage on this open cliff.

Like many of these types of defensive towers from the 16th century, the Torre del Gerro originally had no door on the ground floor . To enter, guards had to use a retractable ladder . This made it virtually impossible for pirates to simply storm the tower.

On the facade of the tower, you can see the stoneware relief of the coat of arms of Crown Prince Don Carlos (the son of King Philip II) and the Imperial Eagle of Charles V. This underscores the official military importance that the Spanish Crown attached to this coast guard.

The tower was part of a coastal defense network of King Philip II to protect the Spanish coast against invasions by Berber and Ottoman pirates. The tower and the surrounding defense network were not built to strike down enemies with cannons from a great distance, but as a warning system . When guards spotted approaching ships, they sounded the alarm (with smoke signals during the day and fires at night) so that the population could flee to safer places, such as the fortified castle of Dénia.

In the 16th century, the coast of Dénia and Jávea was a constant target for attacks from the sea. Pirates regularly raided the coastal villages to take residents hostage for ransom, steal goods, and abduct women and children as slaves.

Willem Vandenameele