Torre del Conde is a fortress from the 15th century located in the Villa de San Sebastián de La Gomera (Canary Islands, Spain). It is a military-type building. Its function was mainly of representation of the manorial power, and it counted on the lack of modern weapons on the part of the natives. Its location next to the port at some distance from it, with no place for firearms and at the bottom of a valley, confirms this theory.
| Torre del Conde (Count's Tower) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | San Sebastián de La Gomera, Spain |
| Coordinates | 28°05′26″N 17°06′42″W / 28.09056°N 17.11167°W |
| Built | 1447 - 1450 |
| Architectural style(s) | Gothic |
| Official name | Torre del Conde |
| Criteria | Monument |
| Designated | 13 December 1990 |
| Reference no. | RI-51-0006884 |
  Location of Torre del Conde (Count's Tower) in Canary Islands  Torre del Conde (Spain) | |
It was ordered to be built by the Count of La Gomera Hernan Peraza the Elder between 1447 and 1450, and the stately elites of La Gomera took refuge there during the Rebellion of the Gomeros. Possibly at that time it was the center of a larger group of temporary or minor fortifications.
Of the towers built during the Conquest of the Canary Islands (Añazo, Gando, etc.), it is the only one that is preserved today.
It is in the late Gothic style, it has a prismatic shape, 15 meters high, and about 40 meters in perimeter, with walls two meters thick. It is whitewashed, with red stone blocks in the corners. It has the honor of being the southernmost medieval (specifically Gothic) construction that we have news of.
Its original design underwent several reforms, with Jacome Pelearo Fratin and Leonardo Torriani. Some of its most illustrious guests have been Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci and Hernán Cortés.[1] It was declared a Historic-Artistic Monument on 13 December 1990.[2] It was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Asset of Cultural Interest) according to the Order of 2 July 1993.[3]
References
edit- ^ Pinto y de la Rosa, José María (1954). Apuntes para la historia de las antiguas fortificaciones de Canarias. Museo Militar Regional de Canarias. ISBN 8492031808. OCLC 36016714. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
- ^ "Consulta a la base de datos de bienes inmuebles - Patrimonio Histórico". Retrieved 25 October 2010.
- ^ "Torre del Conde". www.gobiernodecanarias.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 November 2018.