PORTO BADISCO · OTRANTO
The Salento coast has a great number of towers, built to spot and signal any danger coming from the sea. Because of the constant threat from Saracen pirates in the 16th and 17th centuries, it was decided to strengthen protection even further. The towers were placed along the coast so that they could communicate with one another. Each was guarded by a man on horseback whose job was to raise the alarm for the whole population, who in case of danger could take refuge inside. Indeed, every tower had an access route towards the town and a water cistern.
The coastal towers fall into two types:
The tower stands south-east of Otranto and is also called the Tower of the Idro. Its construction is thought to date back to Roman times, when it served as a lighthouse fuelled by oil, helping ships pass through the Strait of Otranto. It has a circular base; today only one wall can be admired, as the other has collapsed.
Its name comes from a famous legend about a snake that slipped into the tower and drank the oil from the lamp in order to put it out and shipwreck the Saracens.
It lies south of Otranto, near Capo d’Otranto (the easternmost point of Italy). The building dates to the 16th century and is square, with several loopholes where firearms were placed. It is in fact not a simple watchtower but a tower-fortress meant to defend Otranto and its port. Today the tower is incorporated into the “Orte” farmstead (Masseria Orte).
Also known as Capo d’Otranto, it is the easternmost point of Italy. It was built by Charles V around 1560 to protect this stretch of coast from Saracen pirate attacks. The ancient tower, now destroyed, stood 82 metres above sea level; no trace of it remains today. In 1867 the present lighthouse, from which the place took its name, was built below the old tower; it ran on petroleum until the 1960s, and later, with the arrival of electricity, a residence was built for the keepers’ families.
It rises on a high rocky spur in the Sant’Emiliano area. Probably built in the 16th century, after the massacre of Otranto, it had a defensive function like all the other coastal towers. The structure is circular with a diameter of 9 metres. It is currently in poor condition.
This tower, built around 1500 by Charles V, presumably stood on the cliff near Piazzetta Prof. Consiglio, but today no trace of it remains.
Called Torre Minervino because in the 16th century the university of the town of the same name contributed to the cost of building it. It has a circular plan and a truncated-cone shape. Today the tower has been badly restored and its authentic beauty of the past can no longer be admired.
