Torre de los Picos

Tower in Granada

The Torre de los Picos or Tower of the Points or Peaks is a defensive tower on the walls of the Alhambra complex in Granada in Spain. Along with the Comares Tower , it is considered one of the largest towers on the ground in the entire Alhambra.

The Torre de los Picos helped defend one of the entrances to the fortress that was connected to the Generalife. A passageway that ends up at the Gate of the Puerta del Arrabal or Poor Quarter leads to the barracks and the bastion, which conform the defense of the fortress. The Puerta de Hierro or Iron Gate was rebuilt by the Catholic Monarchs at the same time as the bastion.

In the outer corners of the tower, corbels and machicolations are located, which would house some type of structure from which it would be easier to defend the door from any external attack. These elements are repeated in defensive constructions from the 14th century, such as the Torre de el Carpio (Córdoba), the keep of the Castle of the Aguzaderas in El Coronil (Seville), the tower of the castle of Alcalá de Guadaira (Seville), or the castle of Cañete de las Torres (Córdoba).

What does the interior of the Torre de los Picos look like?

The Torre de los Picos is a good example of a tower-house with rich plaster-work and paintings that decorate its interior. The Picos tower has three floors, in each one of them there is a room and in the upper one there is a crenelated terrace. The room on the upper floor has the peculiarity of having rib vaults, whose four cylindrical ribs are very thick. It also has on the main floor, with three twin windows carved in stone, formed by pointed horseshoe arches, and Mudejar capitals. These windows have a Gothic molding, which does not mask the horseshoe arches and the alfiz.

Probably this plant would house a wooden dome ceiling, similar to that of the Torre de las Damas.

Washington Irving and Torre de los Picos

The Torre de los Picos forms a mysterious and fantastic backdrop to that inspired Washington Irving to describe to us the powerful and wealthy Jewish Almamen, who was hiding in this area to seek revenge against his daughter’s seducer.

Where does the name Torre de los Picos come from?

The Torre de los Picos takes its name from the crenelated tops that finish off the battlements. Other versions tell us that the name of the peaks comes from some brackets that stand out at the corners of the tower and that served as support points for the machicolations that it must have originally had. Another name it has received has been: Torre de Narváez. These cantilevers or flown balconies allowed a better defense and control over the vertical of the door and over the surrounding terrain.

History of the Torre de los Picos

The Torre de los Picos was built in the second half of the 14th century, on another smaller tower built during the reign of Sultan Muhammad II, in the 13th century. This explains why the adarve of the Nasrid wall is at the bottom of the tower.

The Torre de los Picos appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Granada!

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Visiting Torre de los Picos

Hours:

For opening times of the Torre de los Picos see Alhambra Opening Times.

Access is normally restricted unless to building forms part of the Space of the Month program.


Price:

The Torre de los Picos is part of the Alhambra Complex and access it you need to purchase Alhambra Tickets or a Alhambra Guided Tour.

Duration: 20 minutes

Nearby Attractions

Tours and Activities from Granada

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