Today we visit one of the most famous defense towers in Costa Brava: Torre Valentina. Located at the end of the seafront boulevard in the village of Calonge, it is surrounded by an apartment building, a wide and beautiful sandy beach and a coastal path that continues to Platja d’Aro.

Torre Valentina, in Calonge, Costa Brava

Torre Valentina is one of the three towers of the village built as defensive system. The other two are Torre del Baró (located towards the center), and the Torre del Mal Ús (located near the mountains).

Torre Valentina is an impressive tower located in the middle of an urbanized environment

It was not easy to live in the Costa Brava during XVth, XVIth and XVIIth centuries. It was occupied by a population that lived enjoying the wonderful natural environment, but a threat especially hard for the coastal villages was piracy. We are talking about pirates ships arriving mainly from North Africa and Turkey, with heavily armed pirates. These brave men could, in a few hours, rape and kill the peaceful inhabitants of the coast, and even kidnap them to become slaves in distant lands, far away from Costa Brava.

Hence the poor villagers needed to erect towers to try to defend from pirates. There inside, the inhabitants could protect and even attack the invaders. When the tower was located next to the coast, they also had a watchtower man. The people in the village took turns to monitor the horizon. In this context Valentina Tower was erected in an approximate date between XVth and XVIth centuries. It is cylindrical, consisting of three floors, each separated by a corresponding vault, and finally a roof. Each of these plants, connected by wooden ladders and hatches, was a step in the defence against attackers.

Ancient picture of Valentina Tower, in Calonge, Costa Brava, when it was part of a traditional villa.

The materials used in its construction were taken from the land: broken stone, mortar, tile pieces, etc. Notice something else in its structure. The entrance is about 10 or 12 meters high! The guard entered the tower via a rope, that once up was withdrawn. That hindered the entry of the attackers. Another detail to note is that all loopholes were adapted to the use of firearms, so that from the inside the defenders could shoot the pirates.

Until 1960 the tower had attached a farmhouse, typical Catalan house, known as the Racó, one of the most emblematic places in the village of Calonge, especially before it was occupied by tourism.

Torre Valentina is located between an apartments building and the long beach that shares the same name, in Sant Antoni de Calonge