Melilla, Spanish autonomous city in North Africa in the Rif region on the eastern side of the headland Cabo Tres Forcas, Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco to the south and facing the Mediterranean Sea to the east, a special territory of the European Union celebrated its Historic - Artistic complex known as “Melilla la Vieja” the old Melilla that was included in the list of the “Red de Patrimonio Histórico de España” , the Spanish Historical Heritage Network.
Melilla is a site that during its chronological history has been spectator of several events and the passage of different legacies such as Phoenicians, Punics, Romans, Berbers, Arabs and Spaniards, who have left their marks on it, and who make it one of the oldest cities in the western Mediterranean and today “Melilla la Vieja” shines as a sort of icon towering on a scenic promontory of the Maghreb.
“Melilla la Vieja” is a historic landmark of the city, its name is from a large fortress which stands immediately to thye north of the port in Melilla, built during the 16th and 17th centuries, made up of four fortified enclosures developed between the 15th and 18th centuries and much of the fortress has been restored in recent years.
This imposing fortress is one of the city’s historical monuments, a much - visited space that combines history and beauty in one place. In 1953 this site was declared Historic - Artistic Site, in 1958 recognized as a Site of Tourist Interest and in 1986 elevated as a Site of Cultural Interest. Its value includes splendid Renaissance walls, to which bastions of the Hispano - Flemish school were added, to end with polygonal fortifications making it not only a superb military stronghold but also an artistic gem.
The contrast between the curved towers of the Renaissance traditional fortress, against the pentagonal bastions and the pincers generated from the fort of Victoria Grande is a stunning artistic highlight, a well preserved detail of one of the most complete fortified complexes existing in Spain and in the Mediterranean basin for its development and results of its projects of modifications during its history and that is without counting buildings as unique as the cisterns, the warehouses and the church integrated in the complex, all them works of renowned architects and military engineers who enlarged and completed "Melilla la Vieja".
This incorporation of “Melilla la Vieja” is added to an extensive inventory, which already includes 100 monuments in the of the Spanish Historical Hertiage List..On 20th February 2025, within the framework of the VII Congress of the Spanish Historical Heritage Network, the President of the Red de Patrimonio Histórico de España, Javier Fitz - James Stuart and the President of Melilla Monumental City Foundation, signed the adhesion of this heritage complex to the network.
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