Many consider that the so-called tower of the malmuerta, en Córdoba has a legendary past; but there are so many names, vestiges and coincidences that we think there may be more history than some would like to admit. Here's what we know. At the beginning of the 15th century an old and distinguished gentleman of the Gómez de Figueroa lineage He fell in love with a young woman who could have been his granddaughter. Many advised him to forget about the maid because they would not make a good couple., but the old gentleman couldn't get her out of his head. And with good reason, well Clara de Herrera she was extraordinarily beautiful, noble and charitable, bringing together more than all the virtues that any husband would have wanted for his wife.

The young lady—contrary to what everyone would have expected—was receptive to the old man's attentions.. Finally, He decided to propose to her and to the astonishment of everyone she accepted.. For the same reasons that seduced her husband, it was also much admired by all the gentlemen of the city, many of whom thought that she had not turned out as honest as she seemed, They assumed that the reason for marrying the old man was to inherit his extensive estate.. Some, They even hoped to one day win two prizes at once.: an extraordinary woman and a great fortune.

For this reason, several Córdoba singles took advantage of any opportunity to be attentive to the lady. her husband, who used to accompany her on many of her outings, He was perfectly aware of the interest his wife aroused.. That's why he suffered enormously., even if his wife did not act inappropriately. The continuous attention that his wife received from men, much younger, and the increasing immobility to which his ailments subjected him, They didn't do anything other than turn your suspicions into obsession. Clara, realizing the interest it aroused among so many men and, aware of her husband's jealousy, she promised herself to do everything possible to alleviate her husband's sufferings. For this reason, he drastically limited his trips to the streets., reducing them to go, with her husband, to religious ceremonies and a small number of social commitments.

Like every great lady, One of its main activities was assisting those most in need., those whom he usually helped. Since he had decided to restrict his public presence as much as possible, decided to stop going to meet those in need. He told everyone that they should be the ones to approach the fence of the house that the couple had in the Santa Marina neighborhood.. So, At different times of the day, the needy people there came to receive the donations and the words of comfort that she dedicated to them..

Anything Clara had done would have been in vain since her husband was going completely crazy.. It came to such an extent that, even, He believed that beggars were suitors in disguise who dared to court his wife in his own home. He imagined that the lamentations of the poor and his wife's words of consolation were the conversations of lovers and he confused the handing over of coins with the caresses of a lover..

Tormented and excited, the old man decided to visit a witch to advise him. one afternoon, after nap, He went looking for her at the Cordoba Jewish quarter and she, after hearing his client's suspicions, He performed some rituals and prepared a drink that would help him see the truth.. After drinking the drink, The old man went into a trance and had a vision of his wife lying in bed with a young man.. Very upset, He headed home to look for his wife.. Upon finding her, without saying a word, He stabbed her in the neck and continued stabbing her all over her body until Clara ceased to exist.. The murderer was arrested by the justice system and locked up awaiting trial..

Given the lineage of the accused, It was King Don Enrique himself who had the authority to judge him. during the trial, numerous witnesses from all social conditions recounted Clara's virtues and the absence of any hint of doubt about her noble and generous behavior.. Faced with such overwhelming evidence, the king declared that there was no justification for his death, so the king said that it should be written that the woman had been “badly killed” by her husband. Having proven that the old man acted under the effects of a drink and that he was not the owner of his actions, he was sentenced to be locked up for life.. Además, given the extraordinary characteristics of his wife, was sentenced to fully restore your memory, who should be immortalized as a victim of her unjust husband.

The king sentenced old Gómez de Figueroa to sell all his properties, to demolish the mansion where the murder was committed and build in that same place a slender tower that would be called “de la Malmuerta”. The murderer should serve his sentence in the tower until death. As for the sorceress—who was the one who had prepared the concoction that triggered the tragedy—she was sentenced to die at the stake.. The king's decision was highly praised by the people since the tower would contribute to improving the new defenses of the city and the execution would be another spectacle at the next meeting of the city fair, which would surely attract more visitors.. Sin embargo, when the bricklayers were going to build the tower, at the site of the demolished house, They realized that it would be located several meters outside the new walls. For this reason, they asked themselves if it was essential build the tower exactly on the site of the house or if they could build it twenty meters further back, integrated with the rest of the wall.

Malmuerta Tower in the past and today

Finally, after much deliberation, They decided to scrupulously comply with the king's sentence and built the tower in the exact place, connecting it to the wall by a semicircular arch. It was built, so, the albarrana tower (located outside the walls) that has survived the demolition of the walls of Córdoba in the 19th century. Thus the royal sentence of perpetuating forever the memory of the beautiful and noble Clara Herrera was fulfilled., “The Malmuerta”.