Resumen de El alzamiento de la isla Plana (o de Santa Pola) para su fortificación,hoy Nueva Tabarca
Andrés Martínez Medina, Andrea Pirinu
Along the 18th century Spain still executes important works of fortification in its Mediterranean coast. From 1721 (in discussion) is the first detailed survey of the section between the mouth of the Seco River, to the north, to the Nuevo Sitio of Santa Pola, to the south, which covers the entire bay of the city of Alicante, which is closed to the meridion by the Plana Island, whose shape and perimeter did not fit reality. Four decades later, the government of Carlos III decided to incorporate this uninhabited islet into the network of coastal defenses so that it would not serve as a refuge for pirates. For this, in 1766, an expedition was sent to the island for its exact measurement in order to project and build the architectures that were considered most convenient. At the head of the mission is the engineer Fernando Méndez de Rao, who signs the first three drawings of the place: a view of the cove where criminals are supposed to be sheltered, an initial project for a watchtower and a relief plan from Alicante to Cape Santa Pola, in front of which the island is located. This last floor plan and elevation of the territorial profile is of extraordinary beauty and technical quality, providing a large amount of information about the area unknown until then. In fact, in this phase, the engineer accepts the initial contour as the base cartography to name all the geographical features. Four years later, in 1770, Méndez de Rao signed the fortification project for the island on a plan measured at the time, which would become known as Nueva Tabarca with the construction of a fortified citadel, a double pincer, a ravelin and the castle of San Carlos, all this to control the sea passage between the island and the cape and the defense of the coast.
