The tower of the Ermita de Serra can now be visited after the restoration works of this construction that was part of the defensive system of the castle. From this week you can arrange free visits to the Tourist Info of the town nestled in the heart of the Sierra Calderona.
The intervention has been very respectful with the asset of cultural interest and has consisted of a general cleaning with the removal of dirt, lichen and vegetation and the repair of the damaged structural walls that have been rebuilt with stones from the area and mortars made with lime and earth from the environment. In addition, a perimeter fence has been erected, street furniture has been installed and the pavement and the roof slab of a tower that only retains a height of one storey have been reconstructed.
The restoration work has not clarified whether the tower reached three heights as was traditional in most Almohad towers. “Perhaps they could only have built this first level because the view from the place where the tower is located is very wide,” says Elizabeth Navarro, Tourism technician. The Almohad-era tower has been dated to around the 12th century after archaeological studies carried out due to restoration work.
“We are working to recover our heritage. We have finished la torre de la Ermita and we hope to continue with the interior restoration of the torre del Señor,” says the mayor of Serra Alicia Tusón. “We are working hard to recover the monumental heritage, we have also developed the master plan of the castle and we want to recover the tower of Ría” she adds.
The main peculiarity of this tower located at the end of the unique Calvary and next to the hermitage of San José and the Cross is the use of the double needle technique to manufacture the formwork used for the construction of the walls. This characteristic is shared with only one other tower in the province of Valencia. The investment made in the tower of the Hermitage reaches almost 200,000 € that have been paid through the Diputació de València and FEDER funds.
