Andalucia Life, Towns, Villages and Cities
Castillo de la Duquesa - an undiscovered fishing village
Just 10 minutes easy walk from Duquesa Port is the small fishing village of Castillo de la Duquesa. Although easily accessible from the port Castillo is only visited by a small proportion of the residents and visitors to the area and that is a pity for Castillo has a long and interesting history dating back to the Roman occupation when Castillo was a large industrial complex probably called Saltum.
Excavations in the 1980's and 1990's revealed that the factory for processing fish was one of the most extensive in this part of Andalucia, easily larger than that at Baelo Claudia. The supporting infrastructure that certainly included houses and shops and may have included temples and theatres has, so far not been found to any great extent. One can only speculate on what lies beneath the existing village and the modern urbanisations. As a matter of interest the hill central to Duquesa Golf may well have been a Roman residential area judging from the masonry and pottery found there.
Our exploration of Castillo starts at the end of the Puerto de la Duquesa urbanisation called Los Flamencos. As you walk onto the hard sand at the top of the beach, on your right, is an area of excavated ground. This was the site of a Roman Necropolis or graveyard. Thirty skeletons and ten graves were found here in the late 1990's and then in 2000 a developer prematurely started digging foundations but work was stopped shortly afterwards. About half way between this point and the start of Castillo proper is a fenced area containing one part of the factory complex. This is badly overgrown but the lines of walls, salt pans and the fish processing 'tanks' and some of the plumbing can still be seen if you obtain permission from the Ayuntamiento to enter this area.
The factory is now bisected by the road leading to the village and continues, again behind a fence, on the west side of the road. This area has been partially cleared and the buildings are more easily seen. Mosaics hidden beneath vegetation indicate that this site has much more to yield. Leaving the castle on your left hand, walk down the road into Castillo and you reach another fenced area on your left as you enter the appropriately named Plaza Banos Romanos. This part of the site was a bath house, probably private since it is small, attached to a villa. Again mosaics can clearly be seen along with the well preserved cold bath and the hypocaust and the remains of a bread oven. You will notice that the mosaics disappear beneath a more recent wall at the east end of the site, clearly there is much more to be found here as well. From the extent of the factory it seems likely that the settlement extended much further than was first thought and may well have included the hill mentioned earlier on Duquesa Golf.
After the Romans there is no evidence of continued occupation at Castillo until 1767 when the castle was built by Francisco Paulino of Seville. King Carlos III gave Francisco a company of cavalry who were garrisoned at the castle as part of the coastal defences. The castle is still used today as small workshop units and for cultural events. Two cannons of the period guard the interior, impressive, gate and the views from the lower ramparts are spectacular. Ahead of you and to the left is Andres and Maria Chiringuito and a small beach that is ideal for snorkelling. Notice the small guard tower on the ramparts facing out to sea.
Leaving the castle walk through the village past the small but pretty church and into the main square. Across the square is Taberna del Pueblo, open for drinks and food and down the sea wall on the left are the old fishermens cottages that used to be right on the beach. Continue until you reach the stream and turn right. You will go up behind more beautifully renovated cottages and emerge back in the Plaza Banos Romanos.
For those who knew Castillo five years ago the place has changed beyond recognition. An influx of cash has obviously been spent on the houses and the new sea wall. The developers now almost surround this small village that still manages to retain its charm and its character.