The Castillo de Santa Bárbara is a castle located on Mount Benacantil in the center of Alicante. The castle had an enormous strategic importance as it allowed to control the entire bay of the city and the surrounding territories. Numerous artifacts from the Bronze Age, Iberian and Roman have been found along its slopes, but the origins of the castle date back to the 9th century at the time of Muslim domination. On 4 December 1248 the castle was captured by the Castilian forces led by Alfonso of Castile and took the name of Santa Barbara in honor of the saint celebrated on the day she was taken. In 1296 it was conquered by James II of Aragon and passed under the dominion of the crown of Aragon. From the 18th century the castle lost much of its military importance and was often used as a prison, only to remain abandoned until 1963 when it was opened to the public.

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