Torre de Cala Figuera

Torre de Cala Figuera is a stone watchtower standing on the coast of Calvià, at the southwestern tip of Mallorca. Listed as a protected cultural property of the Balearic Islands, it belonged to a chain of coastal defence towers built to warn the island against raids by North African corsairs.

Where exactly is the tower located?

The tower stands on a rocky headland at the mouth of the Cala Figuera inlet, right next to the Port de Calvià lighthouse. Its coordinates are 39.458219, 2.520079. From this vantage point, visitors get an open view over the Mediterranean, the cliffs of Calvià, and the small islets offshore, making the spot a popular stop on coastal walking routes in the area.

When was it built and why?

Construction took place between 1579 and 1582, during a period when the Crown intensively expanded Mallorca's coastal defence network. Dozens of similar towers went up around the island because its southwestern shores were exposed to sudden, unannounced pirate landings. The small garrison stationed here was tasked with spotting unfamiliar sails and relaying the alarm to nearby settlements using fire or smoke signals.

Which other towers did it communicate with?

Torre de Cala Figuera never worked in isolation. It kept direct visual contact with the tower on the Malgrats islets and with the tower at Portals Vells, forming one link in a signalling chain that ran along Mallorca's entire southern coastline. Through this relay system, a warning spotted at sea could reach the city of Palma within a matter of minutes.

How is the tower built?

The structure has two distinct parts. The lower level is shaped like a truncated cone, giving the tower a sturdy, hard-to-scale base designed to resist both climbing attempts and gunfire. On top of it sits a cylindrical main chamber covered by a vault, reached through a small rectangular doorway with a stone lintel. This layout, common to Mallorca's early modern watchtowers, allowed a handful of guards to hold the position even with limited weaponry.

How has the tower changed over the centuries?

Archival records document several rounds of repair work. In 1643 structural repairs were carried out, and in 1672 the entrance and the sentry box were restored and the walls re-rendered. By the mid-18th century the tower had deteriorated again: its poor condition was recorded in 1750, triggering a further restoration effort. These repeated interventions show how long the tower stayed in active defensive service before losing its military role once the pirate threat faded.

Frequently asked questions

Can visitors go inside Torre de Cala Figuera? The tower is a protected heritage site and is best appreciated from the outside, along the coastal path that runs past Cala Figuera and the Port de Calvià lighthouse.

How do you get there? The easiest approach is to drive to Cala Figuera or nearby Portals Vells and continue on foot along the coastline toward the headland where the tower stands.

Why was the tower built on this exact spot? The headland at the mouth of the inlet offered a wide view of the open sea and direct sightlines to the neighbouring watchtowers, both essential for the coastal warning system to function.

Did the tower serve any purpose besides defence? No, it was built purely for coastal surveillance and signalling; it housed only a small watch crew and was never used as a residence beyond that.