Exorcisms, Ancient Graffiti, and the Best Views: The Secrets of the Tower that has Caused Chaos in Alicante

In its nearly three centuries of history, the building of the Alicante City Hall has experienced everything. From revolutions to the explosion of the El Gato armory, from the burning of the official bonfire to concerts of all kinds. On this building stand two twin towers, only distinguished by the clock that crowns one of them.

This was the same one that suffered a collapse this past Thursday, October 24, at its highest point. From the balcony surrounding the bell tower, several large pieces fell to the street below. It was a miracle that they did not cause more damage at a time, 10:30, when the square was full of passersby. The municipal government has rushed to implement an urgent repair plan to prevent further scares and to provide a definitive solution to the conservation state of these monumental elements. For now, protective nets cover the most sensitive points of the facade.

But this tower hides many secrets inside that go unnoticed by the people of Alicante and that are now opportune to relate. Details that speak of the city's history and the importance of this building, also for the spiritual protection of the people.

Much has happened since this bell took its place in the town hall in 1699. In fact, the building was different. In the same place, but smaller. It was the renovation, between that year and 1775, that gave it the shape we know today.

An imposing bell under which traditionally hung a clapper that with its chime not only marked the hours for generations of Alicante residents but has been keeping demons away from the city for more than three centuries. With each toll, an exorcism written in the metal sounds.

"All bells are a prayer," explains the restorer of the Alicante City Hall, Luisa Biosca. It was a professor from the University of Alicante who "saw, in this one specifically, that it was the same used by Saint Francis in an exorcism. That is, every time the bell rings, it exorcises the city."

At the base of the bell, you can read: "Ecce crucem Domini fugite partes adversae vicit leo de tribu Juda. Radix David alleluia auxiliet. Auxiliet Maria auxiliet Nicolaus (Behold the cross of the Lord, flee enemies, the lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered, the root of David. Alleluia, alleluia. May Mary help, may Nicholas help)," as recorded by this expert in Latin Philology from the University of Alicante, Antoni Biosca, in a work published in the magazine Saó.

The prayer is a brief text asking for help from Mary, Saint Nicholas of Bari - the city's patron - and Jesus Christ - referring to him as the root of David - to fight against the forces of evil. A brief form of exorcism that saves the city from its demons with each chime.

Additionally, other figures appear on the metal of this particular element, such as the 'demons' that decorate the bell's handle or the figures of the Holy Face, the Virgin of Remedy, or Saint Nicholas.

Much has passed since its casting, and although the bell remains the same, the system that supports it does not. Today, an electric clock, located at the start of the staircase, directs the sound of the chimes. Little more than a box in which the numbers run like grains in an hourglass.

Also, the traditional clapper inside has given way to a more modern mechanism, located outside the apparatus, much more precise and simple. In fact, on the intermediate floor of the tower still sleeps the old mechanism that connected the bell and the clock.

To access the tower, one must go through narrow stairs, the same ones used years ago to check the clock. In the last stretch, the wall is full of graffiti, pencil writings from when the people of Alicante could climb to the bell, some over a century old, where names and even dates can be read. The tradition of leaving one's name seems never to go out of style in Alicante lands.

At 33.5 meters, this is the highest point of the town hall building, from which one can easily see the difference between the modern city and the old Alicante. The image is a perfect panorama of the neighborhoods between the walls.

Originally, the tower had wooden spires that stylized it and increased its height. After a gale, one fell, and the other was removed for safety reasons.

The most famous view of the Town Hall is possibly the facade with the two twin towers and the balcony of the noble floor. A building full of secret corners and blunders about its history. For example, the clock marks four with the Roman numeral IIII - instead of IV - a change found in many clocks, like the one at the Puerta del Sol in Madrid, which is due to historical reasons rather than a clockmaker's error.

Legend also tells that the town hall was going to have clocks and bells in its two towers, something that was ultimately rejected at the time due to the technological impossibility, in the 18th century, of synchronizing both towers and their mechanisms. All this is now part of the legend of a building that in its three centuries of history reflects like nothing else that "this is not the old town anymore, it is another Alicante!" as the city's anthem proclaims.