Torre del Moro (Torre del Cabo Cervera)

The Torre del Moro tops a small hill above Cabo Cervera, on the coast of Torrevieja, part of the chain of watchtowers that once lined the Valencian coast against Barbary raids. In 1312, King Jaime II authorised the Consell of Orihuela to build a tower on this headland, and the first structure went up in 1320, though it is unclear whether it replaced earlier foundations.

A tower rebuilt more than once

The current structure, circular in plan and cone-shaped, is attributed to a 16th-century rebuild, when military engineer Juan Bautista Antonelli overhauled much of the coastal defence system. That intervention is where the tower gets its current name. Standing around ten metres tall, it has undergone documented restorations in 1960 and 1994, and was declared a Site of Cultural Interest in 1985.

Watching and signalling

Its role was purely defensive: lookouts scanned the horizon and, on spotting suspicious sails, signalled with smoke or fire to neighbouring towers, forming a warning chain along the whole coast. Today, from the top, the view stretches toward La Manga to the south and, on clear days, the outline of the Illa de Tabarca off the coast of Santa Pola.

Access to the tower and the grounds around it is free, and it is usually combined with a walk through the park of the same name, near the Torre de La Mata, the other major watchtower in the municipality. It makes a good informal viewpoint, quieter than the Dique de Levante, for watching the sun go down over the Mediterranean.