If you’re walking up from the square, you can’t miss this one: Look for a tall, four-story tower with a clock and bell perched right at the top. Below it, you’ll see a long, pale stone building with arched windows and square balconies stretching out to the left. It’s set at the edge of a cobbled plaza, so just keep your eyes peeled for the tallest building in the area with that distinctive old clock face-and you’ll know you’ve arrived at the Torre de la Vela!
Standing here, picture yourself back in the 1600s. This wasn’t just any tower-it was the neighborhood’s watchful guardian! Locals know it fondly as the “Casa del Reloj,” the House of the Clock, but it was built as a defense lookout and an artillery barracks. That bell overhead? It’s been ringing since 1686, calling out moments of danger, celebration, and-let’s be honest-probably the odd siesta interruption.
Behind these stone walls, you’d have found soldiers going about their busy routines. The place has served many purposes: a weapons hall, a commander’s home, and later, a bustling artillery barracks. After a major siege in 1775-the kind with cannonballs and flying insults-it was rebuilt, then given a new lease of life in the 19th century as a barracks. At one point, it even hid a jail and a secret battery in the wall-imagine the shouts and clanging chains echoing inside!
Fast forward to modern times: after surviving history’s storms and some fancy restoration, the tower became Melilla’s very own Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Today, it’s all about creativity, not cannons!
When you look up at that weathered bell, see the date “608192” painted on it. That’s a memorial to the tragic events of Monte Arruit. This tower doesn’t just stand tall-it remembers. So take a moment to soak up the views, let your imagination wander… and if you hear the bell ring, don’t worry, you’re not being called to battle-just to enjoy a piece of Melilla’s living story.
