Fortress of La Mota

The remains of the old Al-Andalus town and the buildings erected after the Reconquest stand on the top of a hill that dominates Alcalá la Real.

A veritable Al-Andalus town used to be situated on this strategic hill, with a main mosque, citadel, residential area and market. The remains were uncovered after several archaeological campaigns. Some of the remains preserved include the abbatial church of Santa María la Mayor, a Gothic-Renaissance church (16th-17th centuries) that was abandoned, like the rest of the site, in the 18th century, when the inhabitants moved to the plain where the town is today. The citadel is a fortified enclosure with a triangular floor plan, rebuilt in the 16th century, with towers at the corners, where the 20-metre-high keep stands out. There are also still stretches of walls, towers (Prison Tower) and gates (Imagen Gate) from the walled enclosure, which is one of the longest in Andalusia.