Torre del Reloj
First it was an Arab minaret. Then a Christian bell tower. Then a neoclassical dome was added. And finally a standalone tower, when the 1755 earthquake brought down the church that surrounded it. Estepona's most recognisable heritage landmark — visible and accessible without a ticket.
About this place
The Clock Tower condenses four distinct eras into a single structure. The most widely accepted historical hypothesis, documented in the InfoEstepona 2000 archive, places its origins in the Andalusian period: it is thought to have been the minaret of a mosque before the Castilian conquest. When Enrique IV ordered the capture of the town in 1472, the mosque became a Christian church and the minaret became its bell tower. In the eighteenth century a neoclassical dome was added to the top. In 1755, the Lisbon earthquake destroyed the church around it, leaving the tower standing alone — as you see it today: solitary, in the heart of the old town, open to the public around the clock with no entrance fee. It is the only heritage landmark in Estepona where several centuries of history are literally stacked on top of each other, and you can walk right up to it at any hour.
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To understand this place better.
Every corner of Estepona carries a story. These articles tell the stories behind this place.
Urban memory · Siglo XIV – XX
The streets that hold memory
The historic centre of Estepona preserves memory in its squares, streets, houses and churches. Plaza de las Flores had at least four different names depending on the political power of each era. A 14th-century Nasrid cistern survives intact beneath Casa del Aljibe. The Church of Los Remedios stands on the site of a 1400-era forest. Calle Murillo is named after a doctor held captive in Algiers for thirteen years.
Read the articleDefensive heritage · Siglo IX – XVII
Castles and towers: a coast always on watch
For centuries, Estepona had a defensive system of two castles and seven coastal towers. Castillo el Nicio, of Arab origin from the 9th century, dominated the interior from Padrón Alto. Castillo de San Luis, from the 16th century, stood in the town centre. The seven watchtowers watched over 21 kilometres of coastline. Three layers of defence on the same territory.
Read the articleDigital memory · Año 2000
What InfoEstepona documented in the year 2000
InfoEstepona was Estepona's official tourism website in 2000, created by SIMA with the council's Tourism Office. Over 1,000 HTML files documented the whole city: history, folklore, gastronomy, nature and a practical guide for the international visitor of that moment.
Read the articlePortrait of a city · Siglo XVIII
Estepona's 124 fishermen
18th-century Estepona fits into a municipal census: 124 fishermen with traditional nets, vineyards, olive trees, grain and a winepress in every farmhouse. A human-scale city whose economy tourism had yet to invent.
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