The Casa de la Inquisición or Casa del Santo Oficio, also known as “Casa de las Cayitas,” is a building located in Calle Cartagena, which is listed between the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century. It is a three-storey building with a hipped roof and a tower at the top of the staircase, like the characteristic tower-houses of the Murcian huerta. On the main façade is the coat of arms of the Inquisition with its heraldic symbols: the olive tree, a sign of mercy, and the sword, a sign of punishment, both centred by the Cross.
In 1870, the house was acquired by José López de Tudela and in 1941 it passed to Caya Arias Castellanos and her daughter Caya López, hence the popular name “las Cayitas”. At the beginning of the 1980s, after negotiations between the Town Hall and the last owners, Lucía and Félix Mendaza López, they ceded the building and the adjoining orchard to the municipality. The building, which was in a state of ruin, was restored by the municipal architect Andrés Terol Díaz. In turn, the orchard of walnut and palm trees was modified to convert it into a garden for public use, which today is known as the Cayitas Garden.
The building is one of the most emblematic constructions in Alcantarilla, arousing a multitude of mysteries and legends among the population linked to the origin of the building, which was inhabited by relatives of the Holy Office. In remembrance of the possible inquisitorial processes, the festive clubs created the Fiestas de la Bruja, at the end of the 80s of the last century. In 2010, the peñas chose the current Plaza de Cayitas as the location for the sculpture of a witch, made of wrought iron by Miguel Belchí.
In 1982, the building was declared a National Historic Monument. For years it housed the Public Library and since 2015 it has been used as the Municipal Historical Archive.
