| Vignazza Tower | |
|---|---|
Torre Vignazza | |
| Giardini Naxos, Sicily, Italy | |
 Facade of Vignazza Tower | |
| Coordinates | 37°49′16.4″N15°16′6.6″E / 37.821222°N 15.268500°E |
| Type | Coastal watchtower |
| Site information | |
| Condition | Intact |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1544 |
Vignazza Tower (Italian : Torre Vignazza) is a 16th-century coastal watchtower in Giardini Naxos, Sicily, southern Italy. Today, the tower is in good condition.
Vignazza Tower is a quadrangular structure, three stories high. It was constructed in 1544 to patrol Cape Schisò and the coast south of Port Schisò against the raids of the Barbary corsairs who were led by the Turkish corsair Barbarossa Kheir-ed-Din to attack and plunder the small fishing villages on the coast. When an enemy ship was sighted, the guardian of the watchtower sent out smoke signals to alert the villagers and other watchtowers of the imminent threat. There were many watchtowers such as Vignazza constructed along the Sicilian coast. [1]
Vignazza Tower is located in the Recanati area of Giardini Naxos and is annexed to the archeological park. Its interior is occasionally used for exhibitions and various performances.
Porto Torres is a comune (municipality) and a city of the Province of Sassari in north-west of Sardinia, Italy. Founded during the 1st century BC as Colonia Iulia Turris Libisonis, it was the first Roman colony of the entire island. It is situated on the coast at about 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of Falcone Cape and in the center of the Gulf of Asinara. The port of Porto Torres is the second biggest seaport of the island, followed by the port of Olbia. The town is very close to the main city of Sassari, where the local university takes office.
Giardini Naxos is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Messina on the island of Sicily in southern Italy. It is situated on the coast of the Ionian Sea on a bay which lies between Cape Taormina and Cape Schisò. Since the 1970s it has become a seaside-resort, a popular tourist destination and cruise ship stop.
Ardea is an ancient town and comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, 35 kilometres south of Rome and about 4 kilometres from today's Mediterranean coast.
Torre means tower in seven Romance languages and may refer to:
Belmonte Calabro, known simply as Belmonte prior to the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, is a town and comune in the province of Cosenza, in Calabria. The town is perched on a hilltop on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The Alcantara is a river in Sicily, Southern Italy. It has its source on the south side of Monti Nebrodi and its mouth in the Ionian Sea at Capo Schiso in Giardini-Naxos. The river is 52 kilometres (32 mi) long.
Conca dei Marini is a town and comune in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. It is situated on a hill close to the coast and between Amalfi and Furore.
Mestre is a borough of the comune of Venice on the mainland opposite the historical island city in the region of Veneto, Italy.
The Wignacourt towers are a series of large coastal watchtowers built in Malta by the Order of Saint John between 1610 and 1620. A total of six towers of this type were constructed, four of which survive.
The Torre di Moravola is a 10th-century medieval watch tower built in Umbria, central Italy, to guard the southern approaches of Montone by the Fortebraccio, a condottieri family of the Renaissance. Positioned on a hill top ridge, Madonna di Confine, overlooking the Carpini valley 450 metres above sea level, this strategic site served the dual purposes of holding the high ground and allowing the knights stationed there views of approach routes.
Schisò Castle is a 16th-century fortress on Cape Schisò in Giardini Naxos, Sicily, Italy.
The Torre de los Adalides was a rectangular medieval look-out tower of Islamic design located in the vicinity of Algeciras, Spain. It was situated roughly 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from the coast on a hill some 100 metres (330 ft) above sea level in the area which is now covered by the city's northern suburbs. The tower was demolished by the Spaniards during the Spanish–American War as they thought the Americans might use it as a base of their own. The ruins of the tower are within military limits and cannot be approached without a formal permit.
The Torre del Fraile is one of a set of military watchtowers built around the South and East coast of Spain to keep an eye on passing shipping and Barbary pirates. The watchtowers were in sight of one another and it was therefore possible to get a signal to Gibraltar from the watchtower in Tarifa. The tower was designed by Luis Bravo and Juan Pedro Laguna in 1588.
Garzes Tower, also known as Saint Martin's Tower, was a watchtower built in Mġarr, Gozo by the Order of Saint John in 1605. It was named after Martin Garzez, the Grand Master who financed its construction, even though it was eventually built after his death during the Magistry of Alof de Wignacourt. The tower was demolished in the 19th century; some remains were reused for the building of a bridge, and the site was developed with a hotel.
Torre Archirafi is a frazione of the comune (municipality) of Riposto in the Catania area of southern Italy. The small fishing village is located about 32 kilometres (20 mi) northeast of Catania and about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Riposto.
Ligny Tower is a coastal watchtower in Trapani, Sicily. It was built between 1671 and 1672 at a strategic position on the city's western coast. Today, the tower is in good condition, and it is open to the public as an archaeological museum.
Castel Sant'Angelo, also known as Forte Sant'Angelo, is a fort in Licata, Sicily. It was originally built as a watchtower in the 1580s, and was expanded into a fort between 1615 and 1640. Today, the fort is in good condition and is open to the public.
The Torre Cabrera, also known as Torre Mazzarelli, Torre della Dogana or Torre di Gaddimeli, is a 16th-century tower in Marina di Ragusa, a frazione of Ragusa, Sicily.
The Torre del Catalán is a watchtower located in Lepe, in the province of Huelva (Spain), declared Bien de Interés Cultural.
The Truglia Tower is a historic coastal tower in Sperlonga, Italy.
