Torre Villa García

Torre Villa García is a 17th-century defensive tower in Alicante, part of the network of watchtowers known as the torres de la huerta — structures once built to shelter farmland around the city from corsair raids. It stands on Camino de la Cruz de Piedra, roughly halfway between the Cruz de Piedra area and San Juan, and stands out for a shape found nowhere else among these towers.

What is the story behind this tower?

The tower was commissioned by Captain Domingo Boasio, an officer of the Holy Office (the Spanish Inquisition), as recorded on a carved heraldic shield above the entrance dated 1689. Because of him, the building was also known as Torre Boasio. Ownership later passed to the Pascual de Pobil family, whose name the tower still carries today. It remains privately owned.

The structure sits on a square base roughly five meters per side, built with dressed ashlar stone. Inside, it is divided into four floors plus an accessible flat terrace at the top. What sets Torre Villa García apart from the other huerta towers is its truncated, pyramid-shaped body — a form unique among Alicante's refuge towers from this period.

How do you get there?

The tower lies within the city of Alicante, along the old route connecting the Cruz de Piedra district with San Juan. Driving or cycling is the most practical option, since the surrounding huerta — the historic farmland belt — is crossed by local roads and paths, some of which now double as walking and cycling routes linking the region's old defensive towers. It helps to navigate with GPS, since the tower stands on private land beside the road rather than in a marked tourist area.

What will you actually see?

Because Torre Villa García sits on private property, access is generally limited to viewing it from the outside — the tower's silhouette, its distinctive truncated top, and the stone shield bearing the founding inscription. That is still worth a short stop for anyone interested in the coastal defenses of the Costa Blanca: the tower is one of the better-preserved examples of the private fortifications that once protected farms and fields from Barbary pirate raids.

When is the best time to visit?

Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons for exploring the huerta area on foot or by bike, when Alicante's temperatures are mild and the open routes across the old farmland aren't baking in summer sun. In summer, early morning is the better window, avoiding the midday heat typical of this stretch of the Costa Blanca coast.

Why does this tower matter historically?

Torre Villa García is one piece of a larger defensive network that, in the 16th and 17th centuries, ringed Alicante's cultivated lowlands with refuge towers. Farmers and their families would take shelter inside during raids by corsairs from North Africa. The fact that this tower still bears its original founding inscription, complete with a precise date and the patron's name, makes it a valuable piece of local history — it is unusual for a building this well documented to survive largely unchanged.

Frequently asked questions

Can you go inside Torre Villa García? No — the tower stands on private property, so the interior isn't open to the public. You can view it from the outside, from the road.

Where does the tower's name come from? From the Pascual de Pobil family, later owners of the estate the tower belonged to. Before that, it was known as Torre Boasio, after its founder, Captain Domingo Boasio.

What does the inscription on the facade say? The heraldic shield above the entrance states that the tower was built in 1689 on the order of Captain Domingo Boasio, an officer of the Holy Office.

What makes this tower different from Alicante's other huerta towers? Its truncated, pyramid-shaped body is unique — no other tower in Alicante's huerta defense network shares this form.