The Castle of Dénia is located —as its name indicates— in the town of Dénia. Its design dates back to the Islamic era, between the 11th and 12th centuries. Remains found in excavations carried out in the subsoil indicate that the Muslims took advantage of the ancient constructions that the Romans had carried out.
It had a predominant role in the course of the Christian conquest of the lands of Alicante. It was Eixemén d'en Carròs who managed to conquer the fortress for the Aragonese armies, subsequently settling in the walled precinct in 1244.
The castle remained in the hands of the crown, the property being given to Jaume II, later to his son Pedro I and, later still, to his descendant Alfons, first Count of Dénia. During the dispute between the Aragonese and the Castilians, in the 15th century, the fortress was the scene of various confrontations in which its ownership was debated. During the war of the “Germanies” (a recruitment system for the defence from pirate attacks), the castle was a refuge for the viceroy of Valencia, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, after his escape from the Valencian capital. In the 16th century, at the initiative of the Marquis of Dénia, Francisco Gómez de Sandoval i Rojas, the castle was renovated and fortified in the face of the continuous threats of Barbary pirate incursions. During the War of Succession it deteriorated and, as a result, it was practically abandoned, thus reaching a decrepit state by the beginning of the 19th century.
Finally, a Royal Order of 1859 ordered the total eviction and demolition of the remains of the fortress. It passed into private hands until 1952, when it was taken over by the municipality of Dénia. In 1958 restoration work began that has left the fortress in its current state.
It is necessary to highlight the remodelling of the Almohad period, the construction of the towers known as La Torre Roja and La Torre del Consell, during the 15th century, the bastions and other defensive systems in the Renaissance style, as well as the rebuilding of the edifice known as Palau del Governador in the 16th and 17th centuries, under the auspices of the Duke of Lerma, Marquis of Dénia.