* The author is part of the community of readers of La Vanguardia

Located by the sea, the Torre Valentina de Calonge, in the Alt Empordà, was built with the aim of monitoring any attack by pirates. His testimony has reached our days, as this photograph shows in Las Fotos de los Lectores de La Vanguardia.

This cylindrical tower is located on the seashore to the south of Sant Antoni beach, crowned by battlements. It dates back to the late 15th or early 16th century. It is a protected monument classified as a Cultural Asset of National Interest and is in a good state of conservation.

To access, it had to be done with an external staircase, since the tower does not have a door or internal stairs. Currently, it is surrounded by buildings from the second half of the 20th century, as can be seen in the image.

Together with the missing Pareres tower located to the northeast of the bay, the Valentina was part of the first line of defense to cover a wide maritime horizon, where there was a greater chance of pirate invasion.

In fact, the Calonge valley had a complete network of towers (those of Bedós, Castellbarri, Lloreta, Creu del Castellar, Mal Ús and Roura) to alert the entire population in case of danger.