Ermita de Cope, a ruined 16th-century chapel on the Águilas coast

The Ermita de Cope was used by shepherds and fishermen in past centuries

One of the most curious places to visit in Águilas is the Ermita de Cope, a tiny chapel which lies mostly in ruins close to the 16th century watchtower of the Torre de Cope. 

The evidence available suggests that the chapel existed as long ago as the 16th century, when the watchtower was built, and it was most likely used by the shepherds and fishermen who supplied the garrison at the tower with provisions. Few others lived in the area at the time – the nearby town of Calabardina didn’t exist – and these individuals would have constituted the congregation at this rudimentary place of worship.

When restoration and cleaning work was carried out in the late 1980s three old graves were found to exist here at the Ermita, and a commemorative plaque was added in 2014 in remembrance of local resident José Antonio Pérez-Castejón Martínez. 

What can be visited at the site today is minimal. The tiny building is almost open to the elements, and the makeshift altar at the southern end is home to a bizarre collection of religious and pseudo-religious paraphernalia including plants, crosses and images. An arched roof partly encloses it and a cross has been placed at the southern end of the structure to give an idea of how the building might have looked when it was in use (at which time the existing remains were just part of a larger complex). 

Some reports recount that at one time there was a bell over the entrance to the chapel, and that Mass was celebrated every Sunday by one of the brotherhood at the Monastery of Nuestra Señora de las Huertas in Lorca.

The Cristo de Cope 

A local legend tells that during one of the Berber pirate raids which the Torre de Cope was built to spot before they arrived, the Moorish attackers destroyed the altar and stole the chalices and holy ornaments from the chapel. They also shattered the image of Christ on the Cross and burnt the pieces on a bonfire, but the story goes that somehow the head of the Redeemer and other parts of the cross survived the flames, and were collected by members of the local congregation. 

The pieces were then re-assembled by the Franciscan monks of the Nuestra Señora de las Huertas monastery and placed over the choir of their church, and later a new side chapel was built to house the “Cristo de Cope”. This chapel was decorated with mural paintings depicting the story by Josef Matheos, but the chapel has since disappeared, and the paintings were destroyed during the Civil War (1936-39).

A visit to the Ermita de Cope is a short one, but nonetheless provides a chance to reflect and imagine what life was like on the coast of the Region of Murcia 400 years ago, when raids by North Africans were frequent and violent. The remains of the chapel itself are, if truth be told, little more than an organized pile of stones, but they are testimony to the tenacity of the Christian settlers in the outpost of Águilas in the 16th century.

This and the Torre de Cope constitute an interesting stop on a tour of the eastern end of the municipality of Águilas, which might also include the headland of Cabo Cope itself, the town of Calabardina, the small church of Cuesta de Gos, the Cabezo de la Cruz in Garrobillo and the wild unspoilt beaches on this part of the coastline. 

For further information visit the Águilas town page.