Navigating the challenges of modernization, Cadiz, with its distinctive geography, faced a unique hurdle: how to integrate into mainland Spain's power grid.
The solution, while not entirely unprecedented, stood out as remarkable and unconventional. Instead of threading power lines through the crowded old city along the peninsula, engineers opted for a distinctive approach. They erected two colossal steel towers - the Puntales Tower and the Matagorda Tower - on opposite sides of the Bay of Cadiz, stringing massive power cords between them.
Commissioned in the late 1950s by dictator Francisco Franco, the Puntales Tower in Cadiz and the Matagorda Tower in Punto Real, nearly a mile across the bay, emerged as monumental engineering feats. The unconventional design was conceived and designed by Italian engineer Alberto M. Toscano. It was chosen because Spanish steel mills were unable to produce massive steel carriers at the time, and importing such carriers was impossible in Francoist Spain.
These towers captivate with their unique design reminiscent of the Eiffel Tower. Each encompasses a spiral staircase winding within the lattice, a mysterious ascent inaccessible to the public.
