The city of Eivissa had walls from ancient times. The current fortress, however, was constructed during the Renaissance, by order of the Spanish Crown, according to the design by Italian engineer Giovanni Batista Calvi. This was because of the constant sieges by the Turkish navy and their privateers. Its construction, as seen in the section on cultural assets in Eivissa, World Heritage, concluded at the end of the 16th century.
The fortress enclosed the whole of Puig de Vila, the highest part of the Ibizan capital. It extended over a surface area of 10 hectares, with a perimeter of 1,800 metres. Each one of its seven bulwarks was planned in detail in order to equip it with sufficient firing angles that would guarantee its defence.
The Renaissance walls have five entrances, but the main one and the most spectacular is the one that occupies the main drawbridge in the Portal de ses Taules, in front of the Barrio de La Marina. At the end of the ramp up to the fortress,
