El Club · El Castell de Guadalest

Casa Orduña y Castillo is a heritage complex in El Castell de Guadalest, in the province of Alicante, consisting of the former Orduña manor house and the San José fortress, both located within the town’s historic center. It is a cultural and tourist attraction that combines aristocratic residential architecture with medieval defensive architecture, and today it is open to visitors as an essential part of the local heritage. Casa Orduña, also known as Casa Gran, was built after the great earthquake of 1644, although the sources consulted link it to the Orduña family’s long period of influence in the valley’s governance. It currently functions as a museum and preserves the architectural style of the residences of the local elite from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. The fortress within the complex is the Castle of San José, of Islamic origin and dating to the 11th century, built on a rock at the highest point in the municipality. The heritage value of the complex lies in the relationship between the stately residence and the fortress, combined with the town’s historical fabric; it was declared a Historic-Artistic Site in 1974 and later designated a Site of Cultural Interest. The very location of the building—adjacent to the castle grounds and the historic fabric of Guadalest—explains its value as a testament to the estate’s feudal and defensive organization. As for its style, Casa Orduña does not exhibit a single, clearly defined stylistic affiliation in the sources; therefore, it should be cautiously described as a historic stately home from the modern era. In contrast, the fortress is a military structure in the medieval Islamic tradition. The complex is precisely located in El Castell de Guadalest, Alicante, at the coordinates indicated.

The Guadalest Reservoir is a regulation reservoir located in the Guadalest valley, next to the town of El Castell de Guadalest, in the province of Alicante. The file of the Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar places it on the Guadalest river, with an area of 67.51 hectares and a capacity of 12.99 hm3 at normal maximum level; its dam is of gravity, vibrated concrete, with 74.65 m height above the riverbed and 285.15 m of coronation. It is a key part of the landscape of the Vall de Guadalest, wedged between the Aitana, Serrella and Xortà mountain ranges. The reservoir stands out for the greenish blue color of its waters and the panoramic views over the valley, which makes it one of the most recognizable elements of the environment. Due to its position, it acts as a large sheet of water in a space of strong contrast between the rock, the mountain vegetation and the cultivated slopes. In addition to its visual value, it has hydraulic and territorial importance: the CHJ documentation attributes flood defense, supply and irrigation functions to it. The same file classifies it as a large dam and indicates its construction between 1952 and 1969, with completion in 1969. In the Valencian landscape planning and in the municipal documentation it appears as a relevant resource of the landscape of the Vall de Guadalest, integrated in the tourist and environmental image of the valley. For the visitor, it is of interest for the natural viewpoint over the reservoir and for the landscape interpretation of the historical and mountainous Guadalest, where water, relief and settlement are combined in a very characteristic scene of the Marina Baixa.