Aguilas Castle Murcia: The castle of San Juan de las Aguilas is a military fortification built in the eighteenth century which is located on the present town of Aguilas, Murcia, Spain. In 1579, during the reign of Felipe II, on the promontory of Aguilas a lookout tower was built, called St. John’s, within the project entrusted to Vespasian Gonzaga I of the Spanish Mediterranean coast in defense of attacks by Barbary pirates. This tower would be very similar to the nearby Torre de Cope and serve to warn the troops of Lorca from enemy attacks. This tower was affected by an earthquake in 1596 and was finally destroyed by the Berber attacks in the year 1643. In the same year it was communicated to Philip IV that the tower has been destroyed and already in the year 1652 the king ordered the Council to rebuild the tower. By 1751, reigning King Fernando VI, employed Sebastian Feringa , chief engineer of the works of Cartagena to build a new castle. The construction of the new castle of San Juan de las Aguilas began in 1759 during the reign of Carlos III. Today the castle has been restored and is open to visitors.
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La Manga del Mar Menor Murcia History
The first settlements in the La Manga del Mar Menor region date from the Neolithic period, about 5 millennia ago, when the entrance to La Manga was formed, and had established a village of wooden huts, straw and mud. The richness of the area with the Sierra Minera del Mar conditions saw settlements built by the Iberians, Phoenicians and Carthaginians, in addition to the Romans, the Greeks, all attracted by the wealth of the metal ores which are mined in the area. On the seabed of the Mar Menor also were found, ships laden with gold and silver bullion in their vases, Phoenician, Greek and Carthaginian boats buried in these shallow waters, what a treasure for history buffs and lovers of diving. After the expulsion of the Moors from Murcia, La Manga suffered a siege by Moorish pirates, who stormed the coast, and for its defense, three towers were built by order of King Charles and his son Philip II. The three defensive towers were built in La Manga and Cabo de Palos. During the Middle Ages until the eighteenth century the area suffered deforestation, the product of indiscriminate felling of trees. In the nineteenth century a lighthouse was built to warn ships in stormy weather. Nowadays, La Manga del Mar Menor is a resort that has seen much construction in recent decades and has grown rapidly as a tourist destination. Located within the region of Murcia, La Manga is unusual in having 2 coastlines, in places it is just 100 metres wide, its fine weather is its biggest draw for holidaymakers, with low rainfall and long hours of sunshine.