The Castle of Santa Àgueda (

Arabized Arabization or Arabicization () is a sociological process of cultural change in which a non-Arab society becomes Arab, meaning it either directly adopts or becomes strongly influenced by the Arabic language, culture, literature, art, music, and ...

: Sent Agaiz) (in English, " Saint Agatha's Castle") is found in the municipality of

Ferreries Ferreries () is a municipality on the island of Menorca, in the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. Covering approximately , it forms a natural transition between the island’s northern cliffs and southern sandy coves and beaches ...

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...

. It is situated over an elongated

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

, called Santa Àgueda, 264 m

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. It is the third highest point in the island behind

Monte Toro El Toro in Catalan, sometimes known by its Spanish name of Monte Toro, is the tallest hill of the island of Menorca, rising to an elevation of above mean sea level. The mountain is home to the Sanctuary of the ''Verge del Toro''. The mountain's ...

(358 m) and S'Enclusa (275 m). The castle is accessed by an ancient

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

. Next to the castle there was also, until recently, a chapel dedicated to

Saint Agatha Agatha of Sicily () is a Christian saint. Her Calendar of saints, feast is on 5 February. Agatha was born in Catania, part of the Sicilia (Roman province), Roman Province of Sicily, and was martyred . She is one of several virgin martyrs who are ...

History

The Castle of Santa Àgueda was built over an

ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

castra ''Castra'' () is a Latin language, Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'Fortification, fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified milita ...

'' by the

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

s, when Manûrqa (Menorca) was part of the

Caliphate of Cordoba A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the enti ...

. The exact date of its construction is not known, but it was prior to 1232. In 1287, it became the last standpoint of resistance by the Arab inhabitants when the island was invaded by King

Alfonso III of Aragon Alfonso III (4 November 1265 – 18 June 1291), called the Liberal (''el Liberal'') and the Free (also "the Frank", from ''el Franc''), was king of Aragon and Valencia, and count of Barcelona (as ) from 1285 until his death. He conquered the ...

. The castle was later destroyed by Alfonso's grand-nephew King

Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV (Catalan: ''Pere IV d'Aragó;'' Aragonese; ''Pero IV d'Aragón;'' 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''El Cerimoniós''; Aragonese: ''el Ceremonioso''), was from 1336 until his death the king of ...

around 1343. The Castle of Santa Àgueda (2006) is in ruins. There is a project by the local insular government, ''Plan Especial de Protección de Santa Àgueda'' (PEP) (2004), to rehabilitate and refurbish Santa Àgueda. The ''Consell Insular de Menorca'', Menorca's Island Council, announced on 17 January 2007 the acquisition of the castle from its private owners; this coincided with Menorca's National Day, the same day that the island was conquered by Alfonso III of Aragon.

Notes

External links

Santa Águeda in castillosnet.org

The Archaeology of Menorca
Castles in the Balearic Islands Oriental islands of al-Andalus 13th-century establishments in Spain Buildings and structures in Menorca Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Balearic Islands {{Spain-hist-stub