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Belmonte Castle is a Mudejar Gothic style building with a peculiar triangular floor plan. Construction began in 1456 by order of Juan Pacheco, one of the most influential nobles in the kingdom of Castile during the reign of Henry IV. The intention with which it was built was to construct a castle palace that would serve as a residence at the head of the newly founded Marquisate of Villena, of which it was the first owner.
The work on the hill of San Cristobal lasted at least until 1467, and although there is no official record of it, it is thought that Hanequin of Brussels and Juan Guas were the architects. It is during this phase of construction of the castle that the construction of the walls surrounding the town of Belmonte also began.
Despite the fact that Juan Pacheco declared himself in favour of the Infanta Juana la Beltraneja, in the war of succession, the Catholic Monarchs allowed his successors to keep both the titles and the possessions. After this war, the marquises moved their residence to Escalona, with the castle of Belmonte taking a back seat.
The castle takes again prominence with Eugenia de Guzman, better known as the Empress Eugenia de Montijo, who approximately in 1857 begins the restoration works. In the interior, the architect Alejandro Sureda carried out the restoration, adapting it to the taste of the 19th century, closing the gallery that overlooks the courtyard. In this phase, brick was used and the style used is neo-Gothic. With the fall of the French Empire in 1870, the restoration was completed.
In 1931 the castle was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest, and thanks to the collaboration of the owners and the Ministry of Public Works, the castle can be visited since 2010, after having been restored.
The walls are the first thing you will see when you approach the castle, which due to its defensive nature are double. The first thing you will find is the crenellated artillery barrier that completely surrounds the castle grounds, and through which you are allowed to walk. This barrier gave access to the enclosure through three gates, although nowadays visitors must go through the Puerta del Campo, on the drawbridge.
The internal fortification is made up of nine sections of wall that unite the seven towers, six cylindrical ones and the square keep. All the towers are connected to each other by the adarve, through which you can walk, just like the towers and the artillery barrier.
To access the parade ground from the artillery barrier, you must pass through a gate with a trilobed Gothic arch, on which the coats of arms of Castile and those of the castle's builder appear.
As soon as you cross this door, the first thing you see is its peculiar shape, since it has a pentagonal floor plan, which makes it one of the most distinctive elements of the castle. From here you can see the neo-Gothic brick balcony that was built during the restoration carried out by the Empress Eugenia de Montijo. It also gives access to the audiovisual room, where you can see a video with a historical recreation of the castle and its protagonists quite well
At present, from the main square you can access a room in the Homage Tower that serves as an armory. In this armory there are replicas of armor from the 15th century. Next to this armory there is a spiral staircase that leads to a second floor of the Homage Tower, which can also be accessed through the adarve.
Inside the parade ground, the cistern is of particular interest. It was dug out of the rock and is more than 40 metres deep. But it stands out above all for its great beauty, since it is decorated with two large ellipsoidal columns, which lack the upper end.
