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This is the story of a mill that ended up becoming a medieval fortress on land, in the current region of La Segarra, that was previously a border.
In La Curullada, a small town of half a hundred inhabitants located in the municipality of Granyanella, we find the Saportella tower, also known, precisely, as the Molí de la Torre, a building declared to be of national interest.
The truth is that it is not extremely well preserved, despite the fact that the façade tells us otherwise, but one of the three round towers that defended it, the protagonist of this photograph in La Vanguardia’s Readers’ Photos, still stands.
Above the door, almost erased by time, you can distinguish the family coat of arms of this fortified manor house located to the right of the Ondara River.
Originally, it was built as a mill, of smaller dimensions and of which only part of the tower located on the right side of the main façade is preserved. It also still preserves some defense elements, such as the loopholes.
The house is in Renaissance style. Estivo linked to the terminus of the castle of La Curullada. The first known lords were the Saportella, who took their name precisely from this fortress.
Although there were previous constructions, the building was built in the 16th or 17th century, almost completely new. Today it is a testimony of a time when even the mills were converted into fortresses to defend themselves.
