"His mission was to defend the Rincón and Colodro gates. Since its construction, which began in 1404, commissioned by King Enrique III of Castile, the Torre de la Malmuerta de Córdoba has seen the history of the city go by and has had different uses since then.
The fortress, however, has suffered and continues to suffer the rigors of time and is not in a good state of preservation. The president of the Torre de la Malmuerta Neighborhood Association, Jesús Padilla , has warned of the deficiencies suffered by the monument "due to erosion". The stone of the tower, he has continued, "is suffering from erosion, atmospheric agents, pollution, and also by the presence of pigeons."
Along with erosion, humidity is another of the problems suffered by this monument located a few meters from the Faculty of Labor Sciences of the University of Córdoba (UCO). Padilla also stressed that of the whole tower, the area that is "especially in danger" is the arch, through which the water leaks. "We have always said that the repair is expensive," he has acknowledged, while he has insisted that it is necessary.
Moreover, he has warned that the arc is "a very busy area, has a lot of humidity and is especially dangerous" in the event that landslides can be recorded.
Thus, he has reported that one of the characteristics of the Cordovan Gothic-Mudejar style of the Torre de la Malmuerta is that it "uses flat boulders as wedges between the ashlars." Despite this, he has recognized that "the tower is not going to fall, but it must be addressed."
This is a situation that is known to the Municipal Urban Planning Management , at least, from the neighborhood group itself, they have already sent several reports in which they have warned of the situation." At this point, Padilla has reiterated the need for him to take out a plan "to be developed in several phases for its repair".
In 2021, he explained, "there was a departure from the Urban Planning Management, but it stayed up in the air" due to the coronavirus pandemic. "It is necessary to repair this emblematic monument," she reiterated.
From the neighborhood association they have already urged the Córdoba City Council to carry out a phased plan to be able to carry out once and for all the rehabilitation of the Torre de la Malmuerta and, so far, they have not received a response positive.
Construction and uses
The Malmuerta Tower, about which there are numerous legends, began to be built on the remains of a Muslim tower in 1404 and finished in 1408. It was King Enrique III of Castile who commissioned its construction to the first corregidor of the city from Córdoba, Penedro Sánchez.
At first, the wall had a primarily defensive function and, after that, it was used as a prison for nobles. Later, in the 18th century, the Cordovan scholar Gonzalo Antonio Serrano made his astronomical observations from it. For some time at the end of the 20th century it was the headquarters of the Chess Federation.
In 1951, the mayor of Córdoba Alfonso Cruz Conde promoted the creation of a small museum dedicated to the people of Cordoba who had participated in the Discovery of America. This museum was inaugurated on October 12 of that year.
Currently, the aforementioned neighborhood association has its headquarters in the aforementioned tower."
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