Villena and his Castle are closely linked, because under the warm of its walls the Arab village was developed, which stretched around the mosque aljama, the current church of Santa Maria.
The Arab village didn´t seem to have walls, because according to the texts, the walls that surrounded the city were built once this was dominated by Christians, by the middle of the fourteenth century. During the sixteenth century, the walls, together with the castle, suffered some repairs. The Christian city centre emerges around the present church of Santiago, making the Arab people staying as a suburb of the former. During the Sixteenth and the seventeenth century the population experienced great magnificence due to the alteration and enlargement of the two churches. The develop of the city is on the one hand, by the foothills of the Sierra de la Villa-steep streets, irregular blocks, while the true heart of the city is located in a flat area having as axis the main street. Villena since the eighteenth century is constituted by a elongated population that ascend a hill dominated by the “homenaje” tower of his castle. Among the houses of the old city excelled three towers: the towers from Santa Maria and Santiago churches and the popular called "Tower Orejón", a meeting place for the city council in the Middle Age and takes its name from a clockwork mechanism, consisting on a face with big ears, which appear every hour. Was knock down for security reasons in 1888. Nowadays this image (without the "Torre del Orejón") can be seen from the top of the “homenaje” tower of the Atalaya´s Castle. The old town of Villena was declared an Historic-Artistic Monument in 1968.
The so-called Treasure of Villena reveals the rich historical past that the city enjoyed. It Could belong to a king or to a local leader, anyway, this is one of the most important golden findings in European prehistory.
Without any doubt, Villena is clearly identified with its Atalaya´s Castle which its erected profile cuts the horizon and reminds the Muslim and Christian cultural miscegenation. Is undoubtedly the most significant monument of Villena and gives together with the treasure its own identity. His great historical value and singularity led him to be declared a \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Historic Artistic Monument in 1931 and currently enjoys greater protection because was declared Property of Cultural Interest.
