Defense tower “Torre del Tostón” (or "Castillo de El Cotillo") is located in the coastal town of
el Cotillo, which forms part of the municipality of
la Oliva
La Oliva () is a town and a municipality in the northern part of the island of Fuerteventura in the Province of Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain. The population is 25,083 (2013),[Fuerteventura
Fuerteventura () is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the North Africa region, and politically part of Spain. It is located away from the northwestern coast of Africa. The island was declared a biosphere reserve by UNES ...]
, Spain. This defense tower was recognized as historic-artistic monument in 1949. Nowadays, famous local artists use Torre del Tostón as exhibition room, and it's one of the island's main tourist destinations, including as viewpoint.
History
French explorer
Jean de Bethencourt
Jean may refer to:
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* Jean (female given name)
* Jean (male given name)
* Jean (surname)
Fictional characters
* Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character
* Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations
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created the first defense tower, known as "el Castillo de Rico Roque", during the first years of the colonization of the Canary Islands.
Military engineer Claudio de L'Isle built a new one on the ruins of the previous defense tower around 1700,
which was named "Torre de Nuestra Señora del Pilar y San Miguel". This defense tower consisted of two floors, and three iron cannons that were used to defend the coast and boats moored in the port of el Costillo against pirates who operated from France, England and North Africa (
Barbary pirates
The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli. This area was known i ...
).
Identical towers
The archipelago of the Canary Islands features a certain number of defense towers situated on various corners, which have the same structure and identical characteristics. It was added to the list of Spanish cultural heritage (“
Bien de Interés Cultural”) in 1949. Torre del Tostón is almost identical to the following castles/ towers:
* Torre de San André (
Tenerife
Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...
)
* Torre de Gando (
Gran Canaria)
* Torreón de San Pedro Mártir (Gran Canaria)
*
Castillo de San Buenaventura (Fuerteventura)
* Castillo de las Coloradas (
Lanzarote
Lanzarote (, , ) is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. It is located approximately off the north coast of Africa and from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering , Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the i ...
)
External links
Guía de FuerteventuraRutas con HistoriaFuerteventura en ImágenesSobre Canarias
{{Coord, 28, 40, 47.92, N, 14, 0, 38.15, W, region:ES-GC_type:landmark_dim:20, display=title
Buildings and structures in Fuerteventura
Castles in Canary Islands
Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Las Palmas