Castillo Marquez de los Velez

Cuevas del Almanzora, Spain, Spain

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Castillo Márquez de los Vélez in Cuevas del Almanzora, Almería province, Andalusia, Spain, originated as a 13th-century Nazarí watchtower that the Catholic Monarchs captured in 1488 during Granada's conquest, later transforming it into a 16th-century fortress under Pedro Fajardo y Chacón, the first Marquis of Los Vélez.

Pedro expanded the site around 1507 into a rectangular walled enclosure with a moat, the robust Torre del Homenaje serving as prison—adorned with 18th-century graffiti dubbed the "Altamira of its time"—flanked by a casa-fuerte palace (1517-1520), administrative tercia building (rebuilt 1773), and spaces for tribute collection and refuge during Morisco revolts.

Evolving from military stronghold to noble residence with neoclassical additions until señoríos ended in 1837, the restored complex now functions as a cultural center housing archaeological and art museums amid the historic town center.