For anyone who has wondered whether Spain has castles of its own, the city of Villena offers a clear answer: the Atalaya Castle, a striking fortress that stands as proof of the country's rich medieval heritage. Set on a rocky outcrop above the town in the province of Alicante, the castle was raised under Muslim rule and later passed into Christian hands, a sequence still legible in its double curtain wall and in the vaulted chambers of its great keep, the Torre del Homenaje. From the battlements the view runs across the Vinalopó valley, a corridor of frontier strongholds that changed hands repeatedly during the long contest for the Iberian Peninsula. The castle is protected as a Spanish national monument and open to visitors.
