Torre de la Illeta is a watchtower built in 1554–1557 above the El Campello marina to guard against Barbary pirates. It stands right next to the Illeta dels Banyets archaeological site and is one of the town's landmarks.
Torre de la Illeta is a 16th-century coastal watchtower standing above the marina in El Campello. It was built in 1554–1557 on the orders of the Viceroy of Valencia, Bernardino de Cárdenas, Duke of Maqueda. It formed part of a chain of coastal defence towers meant to protect local people from Barbary pirate raids. Each tower was manned by four men, two on foot and two on horseback, who could quickly spread the alarm. By day neighbouring towers were warned of danger with smoke signals, and at night with bonfires. The tower is shaped like a truncated cone with a base diameter of 13.7 m, and it is solid from the base up to the level of the door. The entrance is about 9 m above the ground and was once reached by a ladder or rope, while an internal staircase leads from the door up to the roof terrace. The tower is listed as a Bien de Interés Cultural (a protected heritage site) and was restored in 1991. Right next to it lies the Illeta dels Banyets archaeological site, a long, narrow headland with remains of Bronze Age and Iberian settlement and of a Roman villa with small baths. The site is managed by the Archaeological Museum of Alicante (MARQ), which describes it as having once been an important trading port. Together the tower and the site make an interesting stop in town, and the tower itself is now one of El Campello's landmarks. El Campello's tourism website lists a programme of guided visits and offers a 360° virtual tour of the tower. Visitors write in reviews that during their visit the tower could only be seen from outside. One visitor praises the views of the surroundings, and a visit is easy to combine with a stroll around the marina.
The interior opens only occasionally — check with the local tourist office.
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