Le Torri di Cadice, also known as the Towers of Cádiz

A simple 20 x 25cm photo was always there to greet us as we entered our homes. "Our homes", simply because my father, the engineer Remo Scalla, worked for multinationals and had to move house every 24 to 48 months, depending on the job he was assigned to do.

This photo always took pride of place among the decorations of our new home whenever my parents had to move because of a change of project and country.

My father was involved in many engineering projects in various countries.  But the one that he definitively held dearest was the Electricity Towers, or as he always called them, Le Torri di Cadice, The Towers of Cadiz.

From a very young age, I was aware of this project and its meaning for my father... and for my mother. They met thanks to these towers. They coincided one day when, due to an accident on the construction site, they had to take one of the workers to the emergency room. That day, the nurse on duty was my mother.  

Every time I pass through Cádiz, I never fail to visit these works of art. They are especially dear to me, for obvious reasons. But what impresses me the most is to reflect on its construction, which began 65 years ago. Always by my father's side in his works, he told me about the difficulties that all projects of this magnitude tend to present, but the most interesting thing was how the engineers came to solve those challenges.

My father used to tell me that while they were building the Towers of Cádiz, his concern was the safety of the workers, because of the precarious conditions at the time when they did the work. 

Now, after recently completing the new wiring, we can easily imagine how difficult it was to lay the lines at that time. As we can see in the attached photos, it was a work of great value and the workers who did the job needed to be really courageous. 

After completing construction, and with very little celebration, the members of the team who participated in the project decided to enjoy a small meal on the upper platform; which consisted of sausages, bread and a couple of beers, followed by a good cigar. As was customary then.

He said that "Le due Principesse" (The Two Princesses), as he sometimes referred to them, would last forever.  

First, because they were designed by his great childhood friend in Italy, the engineer Alberto Mario Toscano, with whom he also worked on the towers of the Crossing of the Strait of Messina. These towers, although they no longer fulfil their original purpose, are still standing since, like the Towers of Cadiz, today they are part of the local heritage.

And secondly, because of a detail that very few people knew about until Endesa decided to pay tribute to these great electromechanical works of art. My father also believed they would last forever because during the construction of the bases of the towers with reinforced concrete, my father placed a small medal of the Virgin of Fatima and another of the Virgin of Santa Rita. One on each base of the towers.

At this point, I would like to express my thanks to Endesa and to all the teams that undertake the maintenance and care of these two great Ladies, as well as to all those who are descendants of those people who over the last 65 years have given life and electricity to the Towers of Cádiz.

Today, that same photo also adorns the entrance to my family's home.