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Santa Bárbara Castle with the 'Macho' unlit. AM
Santa Bárbara Castle Loses Its Shine and Lights Up in Patches

Santa Bárbara Castle Loses Its Shine and Lights Up in Patches

The ornamental lights of the 'Macho' fortress remain off for two nights

Adrián Mazón

Alicante

Miércoles, 1 de enero 2025, 21:20

While the streets of Alicante are filled with joy and colour from the Christmas lights, Santa Bárbara Castle remains in darkness this January 1st. It lights up in patches, as the spotlights highlighting the 'Macho' of the fortress and the Moor's face stay off.

For two consecutive nights, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, Santa Bárbara Castle in Alicante has been partially illuminated. The lights surrounding the bastions, towers, and dungeons are functioning, enhancing their medieval stone structures.

It is still unknown whether this partial blackout of Santa Bárbara Castle is due to a technical issue with the LED lighting system surrounding the Alicante fortress or if it is undergoing maintenance.

Meanwhile, what Alicante residents and tourists notice, whether from their windows or on the street, is that the top of Mount Benacantil blends with the darkness of the Alicante night.

This lighting system was inaugurated five years ago as part of the actions executed in the EDUSI Las Cigarreras programs, allowing the replacement of the old projectors with the current, more modern LED spotlight system. Thanks to this, Santa Bárbara Castle is illuminated in various tones, depending on the occasion and significant date.

Moreover, the installation of this new system has enabled the Alicante City Council to save nearly 50,000 euros annually since its implementation, thus accelerating the project's amortisation over seven years.

Other actions the Alicante City Council has undertaken in the castle's lighting include the renovation of old luminaires with LED technology to also improve energy efficiency.

This blackout of Santa Bárbara Castle adds to other anecdotes experienced at the fortress, such as one of the spotlights that 'went crazy' a few years ago and began flashing in different tones, resembling the ornamental lighting of the 'Macho' to a disco bulb.

Other instances where the castle has been deliberately darkened include the celebration of 'Earth Hour'. On this date, major city monuments are left in darkness to raise public awareness. It also happened last summer due to the filming of 'The Captive' by Amenábar.

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