La Mota Castle occupies a flat, rocky escarpment that covers an area of nearly 3 hectares and stands more than 1,000 metres above sea level. This strategic location overlooked the routes of communication linking Granada and Almería to Córdoba and the highlands of the Guadalquivir region.

The alcázar sits at the highest point of the La Mota, occupying the north-east end of the site. Built of masonry, the complex has a triangular shape and is comprised of three towers: the keep, the bell tower (also known as the guard tower) and the Torre Mocha, or “Truncated Tower”. The interior of the alcázar is accessed from beneath the keep through a bent entrance that, despite successive restorations, still shows its Islamic origins in the form of the double horseshoe arches with pointed crowns that comprise the entryway. This building structure is very similar to that of the gateways known as Puerta de las Pesas and Puerta de Monaita in Granada, dating back to the late 11th century.

The medina is laid out around the alcázar, occupying the entirety of the flat summit of Cerro de la Mota. The wall surrounding the plateau, crowned with towers, was originally constructed from rammed earth; however, following the Christian conquest some sections were clad with masonry while others were directly replaced. Of particular note is the large, detached prison tower, with three rooms with vaulted ceilings and built between the 14th and 15th centuries, possibly on the remains of an old Islamic tower that guarded the entrance to the medina.

The interior of the enclosure was accessed via a complex system of fortifications consisting of a ramp flanked by walls and incorporating five separate gateways, of which three are still standing: Puerta de las Lanzas, Puerta de la Imagen and Puerta del Peso de la Harina. The route up to the complex began at the first gateway (very little of which remains), which was guarded and overlooked by the keep and the Torre Mocha. Once past that gateway, the ascent leads to a detached tower housing the Puerta de las Lanzas, which underwent major alterations during the 16th century. Afterwards passing this gateway, visitors come to another large detached tower that housed one of the most imposing gateways: the Puerta de la Imagen. Built of masonry, this gate has a double archway: the first consists of a semi-circular arch with pointed crown, while the second is horseshoe-shaped and stands within a tall, pointed recess. This gateway is very similar to the Puerta de la Justicia of the Alhambra in Granada. Continuing on to the summit of La Mota, the Puerta de la Aguilera was reached (of which very little remains), followed by the two pointed arches of the Puerta del Peso de la Harina at the end of the ramp, which opens directly onto Plaza Alta. 

The castle also had other gateways, including the Puerta de Santiago at the north-west end of the site and the Puerta de San Bartolomé in the south-west wall. These were secondary entrances linking La Mota to the outer parts of the town.

The Puerta del Zaide, a gateway in the south wall, linked the arrabal to the medina by a road that made its way up to the prison tower, beyond which it was covered with a barrel-vaulted roof to create a passage leading to the parapet tower and Plaza Alta. This passage was colloquially known as el Cañuto, or “the Tube”.

Inside the medina, archaeological excavations have revealed part of the urban layout, including numerous dwellings on the west side of the plateau that formed a workers’ neighbourhood known as the Bahondillo. This area extended as far as the alcázar, where the more noble dwellings were found.  

The Abbey Church, which sits to the south of the alcázar, was built between the 16th and 17th centuries on the site of an earlier church ordered to be constructed by King Alfonso XI. Of this earlier structure, only the 15th century Gothic funerary chapel of Dean Chirinos has survived. The church combines several architectural styles, ranging from the Gothic vaulted ceilings of the lower sections to the Mannerist style of the main body of the church and façade. Inside the church there are numerous tombs, of varying dates. On the south side of the church we find the sacristy, which was built during the 17th century. 

Other notable sites within the medina include the Casas del Cabildo Municipal, or old Town Hall, and the Carnicerías, or slaughterhouse. Both structures date back to the 16th century. There are also cisterns and an ice house.

From the 15th century onwards the settlement grew substantially. This led to the creation of the old arrabal or Santo Domingo district, which extended along the south-east slope and was surrounded by a third enclosure. Archaeological excavations have revealed the layout of the walls, the old road network and a number of municipal buildings, as well as numerous wells and middens. This area is also home to the ruins of the Church of Santo Domingo de Silos, built in the Gothic-Mudéjar style.

The occupation of Cerro de la Mota dates back to the first half of the third millennium BC. Evidence has been found of huts and storage silos that formed part of an important Copper Age settlement, which stood on the plateau and nearby slopes and may have survived into the Bronze Age. 

Remains from the Roman era have also been found in the Abbey Church, which date the start of the Roman occupation to before the 1st century AD. The remains in question consist of two cisterns, which were carved out of the rock, stuccoed and painted red, and a wall of large ashlars with a mortar base. The plateau remained inhabited over the following centuries, as evidenced by the anthropomorphic Visigothic tombs discovered beneath the church.

The Muslims also moved into this area, which became known as Qal’at Astalir (owing to its proximity to an important water source) and subsequently as Qal’at Yahsub (named after the head of a family that settled in the area).

The crisis that engulfed the caliphate, followed by the advance of the Christian armies, made the Upper Guadalquivir region into an endless battlefield with both sides carrying out attritional incursions. As a result, the border regions were extensively fortified. The first buildings in what would become Alcalá were probably constructed around this time. 

In the 11th century, the area was controlled by Granada’s Zirid dynasty; however, it was not until the arrival of the Banu Said tribe in the 12th century that it received the name it would keep until the Christian conquest: Qal’at Banu Said. Under their rule, Alcalá retained a certain degree of independence from the new North African powers of the Almoravids and Almohads, and as a result the settlement enjoyed its greatest period of growth, as reflected in both its urban and architectural development. The area now occupied by the Abbey Church was home to the Muslim settlement’s medina, which included the main public, commercial, religious and administrative buildings.

At the start of the 13th century, following the Christian victory at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, the Banu Said tribe left al-Andalus and Alcalá was absorbed into the Nasrid kingdom of Granada. Its strategic location and status as the last defensive outpost on the border of the Muslim territories made La Mota an asset coveted by both sides. It witnessed many clashes between Nasrid and Castilian forces, chiefly in order to seize control of this strategic stronghold, and as a result the settlement temporarily changed hands on a number of occasions. One such example was in 1213 when Alfonso VIII took the castle only for the Nasrids to take it back again shortly afterwards. Eventually, in 1341 Alfonso XI definitively conquered Qal’at Banu Said, or Alcalá de Ben Zaide as the Christians called it, and it became a key gateway linking Castile to Granada. Subsequently, the town became known as Alcalá la Real. 

The king founded a royal abbey with its own jurisdiction, which catalysed significant socio-economic development in the area. As a result, the town expanded beyond its walls and across the slopes of Cerro de la Mota. According to documentary sources, Alfonso XI built a Gothic church on the site of the Muslim town’s central mosque; this church continued to perform its religious function until it was replaced by the Abbey Church in the 16th century. 

Following the conquest of Granada, La Mota lost its defensive function, although it remained a centre of civic and religious authority.  

Between the 16th and 18th centuries, the local population moved into the lower-lying areas to the east of the hill, and the old town was abandoned. The church was the only building that remained in use, until in 1810 French troops set fire to it as they retreated. From then on, the process of abandonment and deterioration accelerated; the church was used as a cemetery and parts of it were demolished. However, from the middle of the 20th century onwards numerous excavations and restoration projects have taken place throughout the castle complex.

La Mota was declared a National Monument in 1931 and a Site of Historical and Artistic Interest in 1967.