Melilla
Melilla is an autonomous Spanish city located in North Africa, on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, bordering Morocco in the north. It covers an area of 12 km2. It has a fortress (Melilla La Vieja), built between the 16th and 17th centuries, equipped with warehouses, cisterns, bastions, moats, forts, caves, mines, chapels (one of them the only Gothic religious structure in Africa), and hospitals. This makes it the most complete city on this side of the Mediterranean, apart from the neo-medieval exterior forts built during the 19th century. The city's architectural heritage, located in the so-called Ensanche de Melilla, is considered one of the best examples of the Spanish modernist style of the early 20th century.
What to see in Melilla?
Cisterns of the Peñuelas
They were built in 1571 to increase the capacity of La Plaza, which already had the old cistern. Around 1891 they stopped being used due to being contaminated by animals, to be closed in 1947 when works were carried out in the Plaza de los Aljibes for its conditioning. In 1997, on the V Centenary of Melilla, they were opened to the public. They are made up of 1 filter, 2 decanters and 2 cisterns. They are one of the most monumental works of the 16th century whose spectacular nature is even more evident if you visit its interior.
Melilla City Council
Also called the Palace of the Assembly and, previously, the Municipal Palace, it is an art deco building located in the Plaza de España, considered an Asset of Cultural Interest. It is built with a structure with concrete pillars, solid brick walls and vaults of the same brick on iron beams. It consists of 3 floors and its floor plan is pentagonal.
Coventico Caves
They are natural caves excavated by water located in Melilla La Vieja, which have access from the Museum of Sacred Art and are considered an Asset of Cultural Interest. They were used by Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs and finally by the Spanish. They have a gigantic open cavity, reinforced by a parabolic arch of stone and brick and 3 interconnected levels, from lowest to highest. The first consists of 2 intersecting naves and was used as a church, the second, a set of rooms connected to each other and with windows to the outside, the third being similar to the previous one, but with smaller and lower rooms.
Galapagos Ensenada, Melilla
There is a small beach with very good quality of both sand and water, special both for its small size and its location. A place that seems straight out of a story or a movie, with the horizon on one side and Melilla La Vieja on the other.
Melilla Lighthouse
It was built in 1918 on the Bonete tower. It currently houses the Melilla Monumental City Foundation, which aims for Melilla to be proclaimed a World Heritage City. It is considered an Asset of Cultural Interest.
Museum of Archeology and History of Melilla
This museum is located in the old Peñuelas warehouse, in the first fortified area of Melilla La Vieja. It opened its doors in this location in 2011 and among its collection you can see pieces and material found in the excavations carried out on Cerro de San Lorenzo.
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