El castillo de Petrel se encuentra en una elevación montañosa ubicada en la zona este del casco urbano de la ciudad de Petrel, Alicante, España. Desde él se divisa todo el valle del Vinalopó.
Características
Originario de finales del siglo XII o principios del XIII, es un castillo musulmán, probablemente construido sobre una atalaya anterior. Es de forma poligonal, y su fábrica es de mazonería con sillería en las aristas de sus lados. Está almenado y su interior está recorrido por un terraplén.
La muralla exterior está formada por dos lienzos de tapial separados por un torreón central y cubos en los extremos. Su elemento más destacado es su gran torre cuadrada, con dos pisos y un sótano que era un aljibe en la época islámica. Posteriormente sería utilizada como prisión. También posee una gran sala avoltada, escenario de las fiestas del señor feudal, que en la actualidad se dedica a conciertos de cámara celebrados con motivo de la Semana de la Guitarra y a la celebración de bodas civiles.
Su función era eminentemente estratégica y de dominio del territorio, al controlar el paso entre la meseta castellana y el litoral mediterráneo. Fue tomado por los moriscos durante las revueltas de 1265; para recuperarlo, el rey Alfonso X de Castilla recurrió a la ayuda de Jaime I de Aragón, quien pronto lo reconquistó.
Las obras de reconstrucción finalizaron en el año 1982, además de acometerse en él nuevas obras durante el 2010, presentando actualmente un impecable aspecto.
En su torre del homenaje se realizan exposiciones y es Conjunto Histórico-Artístico de Interés Nacional desde 1983.

Castillo de Petrel

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The castle is of Islamic origin. It was conquered by the Crown of Aragon in 1239 and subsequently ceded to the Crown of Castile under the terms of the Treaty of Almizra. From its position, it dominates the whole city. The keep, whose foundations are laid over a cave, and the bastion tower are the elements that have survived to the present day.
https://www.spain.info

Sax Castle

La Mola castle stands on a small hill at 360 metres above sea level and 3 kilometres from the town of Novelda. The fortress was built by Spain’s Islamic occupiers in the late 12th century. The castle has a polygonal layout with eight square turrets jutting out from the outer wall, although only four still survive today, two of which are clad. The castle has a 9 by 11 metre free-standing square tower inside, although one of the floors is missing. The hall on the ground floor is lit by a loophole. The castle was built using mortar over masonry.
In the late 14th century, under Christian rule, it underwent structural changes that included the addition of a triangular tower measuring 15 metres wide and 17 metres high, the only one of its kind on the Iberian peninsula. The tower is accessed by a semi-circular stone gateway facing northwest and set high in the wall. It has two floors and is lit inside by several loopholes. The castle was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1931.
http://www.costablanca.org

La Mola Castle

The Castle of Biar stands on a hillock overlooking the town of Biar, in the comarca of Alt Vinalopó (Valencian Community, Spain).
History
During the Muslim rule had already news but few of the fortress, which began to be relevant to the time of James I of Aragon, remain as border castle under the Treaty of Almizra. The building lost its role during the early modern period and, although rarely used, after was used as a cemetery. It was declared a Monumento Nacional in 1931 and is in the call Route of the Castles of Vinalopó.

Structure
The castle was built in stone with masonry and rammed earth, which was used for the tower of homage. The building consists of two parts. On the one hand, a semicircular enclosure with four towers at the corners thereof, and on the other, a space with four cubic structures and the tower of homage. These towers and other structures are the basic defenses of the castle, and its position high on a rocky hill, the proliferation of small openings in its walls and battlements auction.
The tower of homage is the highlight of the architectural complex. Of 12th century, is situated on one side and reaches a height of 17 meters. Its plan is square shaped and has three floors, acquiring such an enormous importance. On the lower floor is used the called barrel vault and the other levels, second and third, use the Almohad ribbed vault which, together with those of the neighboring Castle of Villena, are among the oldest in Spain and throughout the Maghreb, as well as the only used in a military building in the Iberian Peninsula.

Castle of Biar

The Atalaya Castle (Spanish: Castillo de la Atalaya or Castillo de Villena, English: Castle of the Watch) is a castle in Villena, province of Alicante, southern Spain. Located over a spur of the Sierra de la Villa, in the north-western part of the province of Alicante, it commands the former frontier between Castile and Kingdom of Aragon.
History
The castle was built in an unknown age, although not after the 12th century, since Arab sources mention it in 1172. It has been speculated that the fortification could have been built over a Roman castrum or villa, but no proofs of this have been found.
The castle was an important stronghold on the northern frontier of the Islamic emirate of Iberia, and resisted to three different sieges laid by James I of Aragon. He was finally able to conquer it in 1240, although the castle was handed over to the Kingdom of Castile after the Treaty of Almizra of 1244. It was first given to the Order of Calatrava, but was soon acquired by Infante Manuel when he became lord of Villena. Here resided his son, writer Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena, who was succeeded as proprietor by Alfonso of Aragon and Foix, the first Marquis of Villena.
In 1476 the citizens of Villena, encouraged by the Catholic Monarchs, rebelled against the marquisses and killed numerous Jews and conversos who had taken refuge in the castle. After this event, the castle stopped to be residence of the marquisses, and, together with the city, became a royal possession.
During the Revolt of the Brotherhoods (1519–1523), viceroy Diego Mendoza took refuge in the fortress after his defeat at Gandía, and from here set out the troops which restored the royal power in Spain. During the War of Spanish Succession (1701–1713), 50 Bourbon loyalist troops sustained a siege of 8 days from Austrian units. The castle was abandoned after the loot perpetrated by the French Marshal Suchet in the course of the Peninsular War (early 19th century). A first restoration was carried out in 1958. The castle is now in good conditions and is the centre of the yearly Moros y Cristianos feast.
The castle was declared a Historical-Artistic Monument in 1931.
Description
The entrance of the castle is oriented to NW; two other entrances are now closed. Across the upper part of the external wall is a chemin-de-ronde connecting all the towers. Within the inner gate remains have been excavated, which are thought to belong to Sanctuary of the Virgin of the Snow, whose existence was known from written documents.
The fortress has a concentric plan, with an inner and higher line of walls forming a square, and with a rectangular barbican forming a larger inner space in front of the keep. The inner square polygonal in plan, with round towers at the corners, aside from one which is occupied by the keep. These walls were built in the Almohad era, and were covered in the 15th century by order of Don Juan Pacheco. Over this sector is another path leading to the keep. The latter and the towers have rectangular merlons.
The keep is quite higher than the other fortifications. Its lower sections were built in Almohad times using the rammed earth technique. The small entrance lead to a 7x7 m hall, whose walls have an average thickness of 3.5 m, and which is covered by an Almohad ceiling from the 12th century.
The stairs leading to the upper sections house a reproduction of a graffitoed khamsa, the original being in Villena's Museum. The mid hall has also an Almohad ceiling. The two upper sections were built in the mid-15th century.

Atalaya Castle

The older people of Elche remember when it still served as a textile factory and even intermittently, as a prison. The dramatic process of renovation experienced by the Palace of Altamira, or Alcazar de la Señoría,makes it one of the best preserved strongholds in the province of Alicante, and at the same time an essential monumental point of reference of vital importance for the city.
Residence of the noblemen of Elche between the XV and the XIX centuries, its Torre del Homenaje or Keep also housed the Kings Jaime II and Pedro IV and the Catholic Monarchs during their stays in the city and hosted the meetings of the General Council of the City up to the XV century.
Factory and Prison
In the construction process of the Palace of Altamira several important stages stand out. The first corresponds to the Islamic period between the XI and XIII centuries. In the present day some stretches of the City Wall from this time may be seen, along with remnants of dwellings and drainage channels, which are not visible, as well as a monumental entrance gate and the Keep, of which only the ground floor belongs to this period.
The second phase, between the XV and XVI centuries, occurred after Gutierre de Cárdenas took possession of the lordship. This rebuilding work, defined by its decisive and extensive nature, shaped the general lines of the current form of the Palace. Subsequently, in the XVIII century, the Count of Altamira added a manor house of two floors to the original wall, which currently constitutes its south-facing facade.
It is polygonal in shape, with angles defined by projecting circular hubs, except in the area occupied by the Keep, which has a square base and three floors. Its rooms and the outbuildings of the western wing intermittently housed a prison from the XVIII century until 1959.
In 1915, the building was acquired by a local industrialist who built a textile factory in the Patio de Armas or parade ground, adjoined to the east wall, which was in operation until the end of the 1960s, at the same time as the prison. Nowadays this same parade ground is sometimes made use of as a perfect arena for social and cultural events.
Restoration
After being expropriated by the City Council in the 1970s in the last century, restoration of the building was carried out, including the outbuildings of the former factory, which, once refurbished, went on to house the Alejandro Ramos Folqués Municipal Archaeological Museum. In 2005, after further restoration, which brought to light remnants of the original stronghold, including an upper entrance gate from the banks of the river, whose existence was previously unknown, the palace came to form part of the new Archaeological and History Museum of Elche (MAHE). This centre was inaugurated in 2006 in conjunction with the return, for a period of six months only, of the Lady Elche, who was housed on the ground floor of the Torre del Homenaje or Keep, where an exact copy of the Iberian bust is currently displayed, ceded by the Provincial Archaeological Museum (MARQ).
http://www.visitelche.com