TORRE TAVIRA

ROOM 1 – HISTORY OF THE CAMERA OBSCURA

Room 1 of the Tavira Tower exhibits information about the history of the camera obscura and its evolution over the centuries. It also explains how it works and the location of other camera obscuras in Spain and the rest of the world.

ROOM 2 – HISTORY OF CADIZ IN THE 18^TH & 19^TH CENTURIES

This room covers Cadiz's golden age. It contains information about Cadiz's busy port and the lookout towers, their function and characteristics. There is also a panel on the Cortes de Cadiz of 1812 explaining the history of Spain's first Constitution, which was signed in Cadiz.

CAMERA OBSCURA SESSION

The Tavira Tower's upper room is where the camera obscura session takes place, which lasts about 15 - 20 minutes. During this time, the guide who operates the camera obscura shows and explains the monuments and the city's history while moving the camera.

The guided camera obscura session is a memorable and entertaining way to tour Cadiz. You will have the opportunity to observe scenes in real-time in the city's different corners without moving from the Tavira Tower.

VIEWPOINT – THE BEST VIEWS OF CADIZ

Finally, after climbing 173 steps to reach the Tavira Tower's highest point, you will be rewarded with the best panoramic view of the entire city of Cadiz and its bay.

Here you will also find the tube with the optical system of the camera obscura.

HISTORY OF THE TORRE TAVIRA

In the early 18^th century, Cadiz was awarded a trade monopoly by a Royal decree. Until then, all trade coming from the Americas went straight to Seville. But now, all ships docked first in Cadiz. This new monopoly caused an unprecedented economic boom that generated a new social class of well-to-do, cultured, and cosmopolitan merchants.

With their new wealth, the merchants of Cádiz began to build palace-like houses in keeping with their new social status. The most characteristic feature of these palace-houses was the watchtower, rising above the rooftops of the city. At the city's pinnacle, there were 164 of these towers. Today, 134 are left standing.

From the lookout towers, merchants could control the departure and arrival of their ships.

The Tavira Tower is part of the palace-house of the Marqueses de Recaño. The building was constructed around 1730 in baroque style. As was the tradition of the time, the first floor was dedicated to offices and warehouses.

The residence of the lord of the house was on the second floor, which was characterized by its high ceilings and luxurious furnishings. The second floor, more humble and modest, was occupied by the servants' quarters. And finally, on the roof was the watchtower, a symbol of the family's wealth.

In 1778, the tower of the palace-house of the Marqueses de Recaño was named the official watchtower of the port of Cadiz. For the simple reason that, with its 45 meters above sea level, it was the city's highest point. Since then, the tower has been named after its first watchman, frigate lieutenant Antonio Tavira.

HISTORY OF THE CAMERA OBSCURA

The first references to the optical principles used by the camera obscura appear in testimonies of Chinese philosophers (5^th century BC) and Aristotle (4^th century BC).

However, it wasn’t until the 10^th century that the Arab physicist and astronomer Alhazen used the principle of the camera obscura to study the reflection and refraction of light, the origin of the rainbow, and the use of lenses.

In the 15^th century, Leonardo da Vinci further developed the camera obscura to study the workings of vision and light. He also added a lens to the hole through which light enters to obtain sharper images.

In the 17^th century, the English scientist Robert Hooke (considered one of the most important experimental scientists in history) built camera obscuras to demonstrate how human vision works. It was then that the camera obscura began to be used at upper-class parties as entertainment.

In 1685, the German monk and writer Johann Zahn designed the first camera small enough to be portable and practical for photography. However, it took almost 150 years before the technology to build it existed.

The technical improvements of the 18^th century facilitated the construction of new models of the camera obscura. Their popularity grew and even European painters used them to create more realistic and accurate paintings.

In the 19^th century, the camera obscura gave way to the invention of the photographic camera. In 1827, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, considered the inventor of photography, was the first to succeed in "fixing an image."