PATRIMONIO NACIONAL
The Caracol Tower, with its bartizans –angular cylindrical sentry boxes-, is today the only architectural trace of a monumental construction that occupied the hill of La Mota, in Benavente.
/
The castle-palace of the Counts of Benavente in an advanced state of ruin (1890), used as a quarry for construction materials. The Caracol Tower is located on the far left.
125 /
El castillo-palacio de los condes de Benavente en estado avanzado de ruina (1890), utilizado como cantera de materiales de construcción. La Torre del Caracol se sitúa en el extremo izquierdo.
The castle’s history begins in times of repopulation when Fernando II of León ordered the construction of a fortress and a walled enclosure to shelter the settlers. Its first transformation took place in the 14th century, following the granting of the County of Benavente which turned the fortification into the habitual residence of the Pimentel lineage and the town into a royal estate. In the next century, the medieval defensive construction became obsolete and was transformed into a castle-palace with extensive
Piso superior de la Torre del Caracol, de doble altura y cubierto con artesonado mudéjar-trasladado del ábside del convento de San Román del Valle y ampliado de forma mimética para compatibilizar la transición, en su nueva ubicación, de la planta octogonal a la cuadrangular-. Murales de Juan Carlos Guerra (1972), con temática medieval.
Upper floor of the Caracol Tower, with double-height and covered with Mudejar coffered ceiling - transferred from the apse of the convent of San Román del Valle and enlarged in a mimetic way to make compatible the transition, in its new location, from the octagonal to the quadrangular floor plan. Murals by Juan Carlos Guerra (1972), with medieval themes.
2022 / PRIMAVERA / SPRING /
Only the foundations remain of that castle, converted into ruins awaiting archeological excavations. How was this possible? The metamorphosis of the monument could only be propitiated by the successive and dissimilar uses to which it was destined over time -from the initial defensive purpose to the current hotel-.
