Articles · Monuments & architecture
Cádiz monuments and architecture: the merchant watchtowers of the old town
Old Cádiz has a second skyline: more than one hundred merchant lookout towers built after the Casa de la Contratación moved from Seville in 1717. This hub follows them from the Casa del Almirante to Torre Tavira, the tallest of them all.
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Monuments & architecture: the big picture
Written by
Lucía Barbera Quintero Historian specialising in Cádiz's ancient, colonial and constitutional heritage.
One article anchors this hub. Cádiz watchtowers and Torre Tavira explains that King Philip V moved the Casa de la Contratación from Seville to Cádiz in 1717, and that merchants then built rooftop turrets to sight ships and pirate sails before they reached the harbour. More than one hundred of those towers survive, most on private buildings.
Torre Tavira is the tallest, about 33 metres above the ground and 45 above sea level, and it became the port's official watchtower in 1778. The article also covers the Casa de las Cuatro Torres, built between 1736 and 1745 for the Syrian merchant Juan Clat Fragela, the circa-1771 Casa de las Cinco Torres, and the Casa del Almirante in El Pópulo. Read it before you climb Torre Tavira.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Cádiz have so many watchtowers?
In 1717 King Philip V moved the Casa de la Contratación from Seville to Cádiz, which began the city's century of economic splendour. Wealthy merchants and the local bourgeoisie built rooftop towers to scan the horizon with telescopes and watch for pirate attacks. More than one hundred of them still stand.
How tall is Torre Tavira?
Torre Tavira is the tallest watchtower in the old city, about 33 metres above the ground and 45 metres above sea level. Only the towers of Cádiz Cathedral, at roughly 58 metres of altitude, are higher. It has five floors, with two exhibition halls and a rooftop mirador.
How did a merchant use a garita tower?
In a tower such as those of the Casa de las Cuatro Torres, the staircase continues up through the garita and ends at a built-in seat called a sillín. The owner put a telescope through small circular spyholes (óculos) to scan the sea. That house was built between 1736 and 1745 for the Syrian merchant Juan Clat Fragela.