Torres d’enfiliació

These obelisk-shaped structures were built from 1941 onwards, during the Second World War, to enable submarines to carry out torpedo practice in the Bay of Alcúdia. They continued to be used in military exercises until 1970.

The towers were built in pairs, with one tower close to the coast and the other 200 metres further inland, between s’Albufera d’Alcúdia and Colònia de Sant Pere. A total of 14 pairs were constructed, spaced 1,240 metres apart. Submarines determined their position by visually aligning the two towers; this is the origin of the name “torres d’enfilació”.

Local sandstone, known as marès, and cement were used in their construction, and the towers were painted white with some red details, such as the number assigned to each pair. In some cases, they feature a small balcony and a window on the seaward façade, as well as ventilation openings on this façade or on the side walls. At least those located within the municipality were built by stonemasons from Santa Margalida.

Between Can Picafort and Son Real, as many as five towers survive, belonging to three different pairs (numbers 4, 5 and 7). These towers have become the image of the Can Picafort tourism brand.