It is one of the few relics of mediaeval rural architecture left in Les Corts. Its name comes from its having been a watchtower built next to the house in the Middle Ages (10th century), as a means of defence against Al-Mansur’s Saracen invasions. It has undergone many renovations over its history. Its current appearance comes from its reconstruction after the War of the Spanish Succession and the defeat of Barcelona on 11 September 1714, when the house was burnt down. Even so, an inscription on the entrance gate pre-dating all that, from 1610, bears the name of the then owner (Benet Vinyals de la Torre) and his family’s coat of arms. There are other signs suggesting the building could date back to the 16th and 17th centuries. Today it houses the offices of the hotel group that owns it and the Princesa Sofia hotel, which stands next to it.