Xixona above the turrón streets: the Torre Grossa castle

Xixona's turrón shops draw the eye to the streets, but the castle on the hill explains their shape. Torre Grossa rises above the old town within a long defensive enclosure. From its exterior paths, roofs, ravines and roads line up and the settlement reads as a frontier town as well as a place of confectioners.

The local story

The first fortress belongs to the Almohad period around the turn of the thirteenth century. Later Christian works extended the defences of a town on the Kingdom of Valencia's frontier. Damage and rebuilding left fragments rather than a complete castle. The surviving walls and northern tower still show how the hill itself was used as part of the fortification.

Plan the visit

Follow town signs to the castle and plan an exterior visit only; the official tourism listing does not promise entry to the interior. Ground can be uneven, so keep to public paths and avoid unstable walls. Return through the old streets for the parish church and a turrón maker or shop. The sweet tradition is richer when placed beneath the older hilltop town.

How it connects

Agost and Busot offer two other inland Alicante stories where craft, settlement and surrounding rock belong together.

Sources

Written in September 2026 using Turisme Comunitat Valenciana.