The Coastal Towers
The watchtowers, scattered along the coasts of Southern Italy, are the evidences left by the privateer war and the assaults by the Saracens and the Turkish along the Mediterranean coasts; such phenomenon originated in ancient times and considerably developed in the period going from the half of the 16th century to the beginning of the 19th century.
The raids led to strengthen the defensive system entrusted to watchtowers, stone sentinels standing out against the sea with the task to warn the population when invaders approached the coast.
The towers were built in strategic and military positions (that is, in series), so that each tower could control the adjacent ones. The result was a non-stop line of defensive works whose towers communicated among them through visual signs - puffs of smoke by day, fire by night - and/or acoustically with bells.
