The towers Picarte The Canelos and are the only remnants that remain standing from the old fortress of Valdivia. The city, founded in 1552 by Pedro de Valdivia, was devastated by the Indian uprising occurred in the late sixteenth century. During the seventeenth century, the Viceroy Antonio de Toledo of Peru, sent an army equipped with a contingent of 900 men, store, and lots of building materials, to meet two objectives: refound the city of Valdivia and establish fortifications in area, particularly in the mouth of the river of that name. These objectives were high priority for the Spanish Crown, under this strategic character. It was necessary to maintain imperial sovereignty well defended this coastal area, exposed to the ambitions of rival powers (England, Holland, France), who had already dabbled in it by various expeditions.

Viceroy Toledo management led to the largest stronghold of the American Pacific coast, composed of a set of fortifications among which include the forts of Corral and Niebla, the Castillo de San Luis de Alba and San Pedro of bitters, among others. With respect to Valdivia, plus refound this city, the navy sent by the Viceroy proceeded to fortify it too, giving it fascines and earth defenses that would later be replaced by stone walls. It is however in the eighteenth century when the fortification plan reaches its full implementation Valdivia, under a comprehensive plan developed by engineer John Garland. An important part of this plan was the construction of two towers, the Governor of the square Joaquin Espinoza executed in 1774 under the threat posed no rivals both Europeans and natives of the place.

The towers Picarte and Los Canelos (formerly called "mud") are cylindrical in shape and were built with brick and lime, the walls have a thickness of 60 centimeters at its base and 30 inches at the top. The structures were designed to serve as watchmen or viewpoints, however, they are also used as dungeons, powder magazines and windmills. The construction of these defenses proved very frustrating for Espinoza, who was questioned by the alleged uselessness of these structures.