The aid from the provincial entity will be 40,000 euros, 100% of the amount requested by the City Council
Benidorm will restore Torre de Morales this year with a grant from the Provincial Council
The restoration of Torre de Morales is getting closer thanks to the grant that the City Council will receive from the Provincial Council for this purpose.
A grant of 40,000 euros from the Culture department of the provincial entity represents 100% of the amount requested by Benidorm City Council.
The next action in this Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC) in Benidorm has been the reason why 'A pie de Calle campaign has travelled today to Avenida de Villajoyosa, with the acting mayoress, Ana Pellicer, and the Councilor for Public Space, José Ramón González de Zárate, accompanied by the Vice President of the Neighborhood Council, Teresa Garrido and residents of the area.
Pellicer expressed her "satisfaction" with the grant from the Provincial Council for the restoration of this historic element, whose total budget amounts to 207,536.37 euros. The tender for the tower's restoration work will begin once the 2023 municipal budget has been approved, to begin work "as soon as possible."
Pellicer also recalled that the enclave of Torre de Morales has been included in the Intelligent Directional Signage Plan linked to the Historical Heritage of Benidorm, whose total amount is 528,601.35 euros.
Benidorm City Council had requested a grant from the Provincial Council of Alicante to restore Torre de Morales based on the project drafted and approved in June 2019.
The mayor recalled that "the Torre de Morales is one of the most important heritage monuments in Benidorm, cataloged as BIC. Hence, the interest of the City Council for several years was to intervene in this defensive construction of the eighteenth century and to opt for the call for aid launched by the Provincial Council.
The restoration project proposes an action both on the surface and in the interior aimed at making the tower visitable, "in this way bringing our historical heritage even closer to the public and making it even more attractive, especially for the younger generations".
Located on Avenida de Villajoyosa, in a strip that in the 16th century was located next to the Camino Real, Morales's is, according to the General Directorate of Culture, “a prismatic tower about four meters on each side at the base. It is preserved up to the approximate height of seven meters. It is made of masonry of irregular size taken with mortar that is made of cement in the most modern repairs. The corners are reinforced by ashlars of different sizes”.
The tower was also used as a "dwelling" and "inside there are three levels of floors." Previously these three levels were connected by a spiral staircase. For this reason, the project contemplates the construction of a staircase of this type once the improper elements inside the tower are demolished. Likewise, the project plans to restore the roof, allowing access to the outside, replace the wooden carpentry, install electric light inside, and eliminate the lighting sources located on the façade of the tower, replacing them with others located at a suitable distance " which will serve to give it more prominence and greater decoration” Pellicer specified.
The rehabilitation will bring about the enhancement of the tower, to which new technologies and Navilens codes will be implemented "that contribute to improving accessibility for the enjoyment of the enclaves of our historical heritage."
In addition, the action also includes the installation of informative and descriptive panels of the tower, which is currently walled up and closed.
Pellicer pointed out that "two years ago we acted in the surroundings of the tower, nestled in our urban fabric, to make it more accessible and at the same time facilitate future visits to this BIC".
On the other hand, the visit made today with the neighbors has served to learn about some proposals in terms of accessibility and mobility. In this sense, the Councilor for Urban Scene indicated that "we have welcomed them warmly because that way we know what the neighbors need and we will start them up as soon as possible."
