The historical telegraphic towers from Madrid to Valencia: from knowledge to preservation and enhancement

ABSTRACT The optical telegraphic system was introduced in Spain in 1844. In fact, more than a hundred towers were built to connect Madrid to Irún, Valencia and the Andalusia. Decommissioned at the end of the nineteenth century, despite their historical value, the towers are today abandoned with a high level of material and functional obsolescence, waiting for a new utilization. In light of the above-mentioned aspects, the research aims at the identification, cataloguing and qualification of the telegraphic towers located on the pathway from Madrid to Valencia in order to propose a large-scale territorial project for their preservation and enhancement. In particular, the paper is going to describe, first, a historical and morphological evolution of the telegraphic towers. Second, a methodology for qualification of the architectural, material, constructive and functional characteristics of the towers is reported, with a specific reference to the given case study of the telegraphic paths between Madrid and Valencia. Finally, a redevelopment scenario is proposed for the restoration of the towers as well as for their integration in a cycling and pedestrian naturalistic pathway.