Tower of the pointed Embattlements

Opening time: from 8.30am to 8.00pm. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
Access: with the General Admission ticket to the Monumental Complex of the Alhambra.
Capacity: 30 people.
Period: Commanded by Yusuf I (1333-1354).
The Tower of the pointed Embattlements (Torre de los Picos) is, together with the Tower of Comares, one of the largest towers in the Alhambra. Inside it consists of three bodies with impressive vaults.
When we talk about towers we think of their military or defensive function. However the history of architecture is full of examples of tower-dwellings. The Tower of the pointed Embattlements (Torre de los Picos) can be framed within this typology since besides its defensive function, the few remaining fragments of the inside decoration, in particular plasterwork and paintings, reveal its use as a dwelling. The towers next to the Tower of the pointed Embattlements (Torre de los Picos), like the Captive’s Tower or the Infants’ Tower, also combine the external defensive function and the internal dwelling function. However, the Tower of the pointed Embattlements (Torre de los Picos), in addition to these features, is also important for its function in the urban structure of the Alhambra. At its bottom it serves to defend one of the main access gates to the Alhambra, the Gate of the Arrabal, that ended up in the well-known Cuesta de los Chinos, which connects the Alhambra with the Albaycin district. On the other hand, it also allowed access to the Generalife from inside the fortified area by communicating the Captive’s Tower and the Infants’ Tower with the Ravine of the Small King and from here to have access to the Water Tower, near which was the old access to the Generalife.