Gate and Plaza of San Juan



Over the years, the town suffered repeated pirate attacks. There is one pirate attack, however, that is of special interest. It took place in the 16th century. A band of pirates, after landing at Alcossebre, arrived at Alcalá and attacked the city, setting fire to the city gates and entering through the gate of San Juan. However, there they were met in battle by the townspeople, whose heroic resistance allowed them to defeat the enemy.
In memory of this event, a commemorative stone plaque was placed outside the gate of San Juan. At the end of the 19th century, this plaque was relocated to the corner of a nearby house.

It reads as follows: "On November 17, 1547, on the Day of the Saints Acisclo and Victoria, 500 Moors attacked and fought against this town for 8 hours, setting fire to this gate, and thanks to the intercession of these Saints we freed ourselves from their wrath and these descendants of Hagar ran away, returning to their fleet of galleys and galliots, raging and empty-handed".