Las torres vigías artilladas de Felipe II en la Región del Murcia. Representación tridimensional virtual de la Torre Navidad

In the region of Murcia, a series of watch and defensive towers were planned and built during the reign of King Philip II. These coastal buildings formed part of a more extensive network that included the entire Mediterranean coastline of Spanish dominions; in particular in this region, thirty-six defensive towers, were planned, but only twelve towers were actually built. The King commissioned the project to the Italian military engineer Giovanni Battista Antonelli and the military expert in fortifications and viceroy of Valencia and Navarre, Vespasiano Gonzaga, who starting from the year 1570 designed and built the defensive system. The aim of this network of towers was to monitor, alert and protect the coast against the raid of pirates, enabling fast communication with other towers through fires during the night or smoke plumes during the day and then to receive the necessary assistance and inform of an attack: visibility among towers was a fundamental issue. They have been active for more than two centuries and undergone to modifications and rehabilitations. The typologies of plans were several, ranging from circular, rectangular and hexagonal. At the present time, among the twelve towers built, seven have disappeared, four have been restored and only one of them remains in state of ruin, without any intervention: the Navidad tower. This heritage al risk has been chosen to be graphically documented and studied. This research is aimed at obtaining a full digital documentation of the Navidad tower through laser scanner and digital photogrammetry in order to supply a basis for its design and construction analysis, necessary for a proper restoration proposal. Likewise, this work includes the study of the watchtowers of the region, its position and its characteristics through Geographic Information Systems.