Castello de Tibi
Looking at the castle from Tibi
Looking across at Tibi from the castle
The Castle
of Tibi (Province
of Alicante), also
known as Atalaya
Castle;
is
situated on an isolated hill called Loma de las Manjas, roughly
1km from the town.
Tibi is roughly 25mins drive north of Alicante just off the A7 Castella/Alcoy highway.
The castle is easily accessable by car or foot from Tibi along the Girona (sometimes spelt Jirona) road
First view of the castle when you approach from the road access path
The moat overlooked by the east tower
Inside view of the moat
Catsle plan
The
castle was built
in the 11th
or 12th
Centuries,
during the Islamic period, possibly
on the site of an earlier construction?
It
belonged to the Almohad King Zayt-Abu-Zayt until 1240. After the
conquest of this territory by James I of Aragon, Tibi became part of
the Crown of Aragon, and in 1244, according to the Treaty of Almizra,
signed between Alfonso X and James I, the border between the Crown of
Aragon and the Crown of Castile was drawn, starting from Biar and
passing through Tibi and Busot to the sea. Thus, this castle, along
with those of Biar and Busot, formed the line. In
any case, its history as a Christian fortification was short, barely
100 years, being abandoned probably after the war of the two Peters,
in the middle of the 14th century, possibly
as a result of
damage received during the sieges?
Views of the east tower from below
The
village of Tibi, was given by James I to Don Pedro Sancho de Lienda,
a Navarrese knight, finding in it 150 houses of old Christians, that
is, Mozarabs who maintained the Christian faith during the 700 years
of Islamic domination. The warden of the castle was the knight don
Alfonso de solar brother of Don Pedro Sancho`s wife.
The
lordship of the town of Tibi and its castle had successive lords
until, in the mid-15th century, it passed into the hands of the
Marquis of Villena, Don Juan Pacheco, feudal lord of the entire
territory from Jumilla to Villena and from Belmonte (Cuenca) to Tibi.
Later, at the beginning of the 18th century, the lordship passed into
the hands of the Marquis of Dos Aguas, until its expansion in 1717.
Its
participation in the War of the Spanish Succession earned it the
title of Town.
The
castle has an irregular layout, is situated on the steepest part of
the hill, adapting to the topography. It has a 5
meter high by 3-meter-wide
artificial corridor that
has
been carved out of the rock to create an imposing entrance way, which
would be covered from the battlements and east tower. This cut (often
referred to as a moat) acts to
separate the castle itself
from
the rest of the hill.
Although
the
ruin
currently has few elements above ground level, several sections of
perimeter
wall
can be seen, as well as the remains of two towers, plus
traces
of various outbuildings surrounding the highest part of the hill, and
a partially destroyed cistern.
The
tower located to the east, square in plan, is built of irregular
masonry and rammed earth, historians
propose the structure must have had two stories, but the condition of
the ruin makes this supposition.
Looking back across the site from the west tower
At
the western
end of the hilltop,
stands another, larger
tower
built
into the rock at the steepest point of the promontory.
This is also
square but sloped
to adapt to the terrain,
built of rammed earth, almost
the entire first floor remains, reaching a height of about 3.60
meters, with the upper part truncated. On
its south side, a large window reinforced with ashlar blocks and a
stone arch can be seen. It
is assumed as with the eastern tower, this one had at least two
stories at the castles height.
West tower
South facing window of the west tower
East tower
West tower from below
The
archaeological work carried out in 1985 was the result of an
agreement between the Tibi Town Council and the INEM (National
Institute of Archaeology and Meteorology). This work focused on the
upper enclosure and the castle tower, where a complex of
compartmentalized rooms adapted to the terrain was discovered, along
with two cisterns, one in the upper eastern sector and the other on
the northern slope of the fortification. In addition, a cave located
beneath the tower on the southern side of the fortress was excavated.
Most of the material unearthed dates from the late medieval Christian
period, specifically the 14th and 15th centuries, although Almohad
material was also found, reflecting the Islamic archaeological layer
of this fortification.
Whilst digging around on the internet I found these overhead drone shots of the site:
good view of the west tower
The whole site looking south towards Alicante
A tourist souvenir model of the castle
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