Aedes Ars - Torre de Peraires

The monument and its history The privileged geographical enclave of the Balearic Isles, at the navigational crossroads to the ports of the Mediterranean Sea, was the setting in the 13th century of a great deal of movement of all kinds of vessels which reached its height after the conquest of the islands by King Jaime I the Conqueror. The conflicts of the time, the attacks by pirates and enemy nations and commercial transactions signified the need to protect the most important port of the City of Mallorca, Porto Pi, along with the desire to assist friendly vessels reaching port, with the construction of several towers that had the multi-purpose roles of orientation, assistance and defence. The most famous of the coastal chain were the Torre del Faro, Torre de Señales or Cisterna and the Torre de Paraires or Cadena, closely linked to each other, and of which there is little known about their origin and construction. The Paraires Tower was also called Sarrahinesca, a name that came from its Moorish origin and it has also been confirmed that it was built over another older Roman construction. Between this tower and the Señales tower, situated on either side of the port, a chain was hung in order to stop any vessels from entering or leaving.