Castillo de La Mola

On a hill 360 metres above sea level, three kilometres northwest of Novelda, the Castillo de La Mola once controlled the middle Vinalopó valley as part of the network of fortresses that marked the medieval frontier between al-Andalus and the Christian kingdoms. Its origins go back to the late 12th century, when the Almohads built a fortified enclosure here; after the Christian conquest in the mid-13th century, the Muslim population moved away or resettled in what would become present-day Novelda.

From border fortress to barony

The castle passed through several hands during the 14th and 15th centuries: it fell to the Crown of Aragón after the 1305 Pact of Elche, was granted to Bertrand du Guesclin and later sold on more than once, until in 1448 it was folded into the Barony of Novelda, a title it held until the abolition of Spain's seigneurial estates in the 19th century. Together with the castles of Petrer and Villena, it once formed part of the line of fortresses strung along the Vinalopó valley through the Middle Ages. Of the polygonal enclosure, which once had as many as eight rectangular towers, four survive, including a 14th-century triangular tower and the central keep. It has been protected as a Bien de Interés Cultural since 1931.

Visiting

The inner rooms are reached through raised, round-arched doorways, and the rammed-earth and masonry walls still show the arrow slits that once lit the chambers. From the towers, the view takes in the Vinalopó valley and the Sierra del Cid. The castle shares its hill with the Santuario de Santa María Magdalena and sits inside the Clots de la Sal natural park, so the two visits are usually combined with a short walk through the surrounding area. The dirt track up has some incline, so comfortable footwear is worth bringing.