The Tower of Mortella ( co, Torra di Mortella) is a ruined
Genoese tower
The Genoese towers in Corsica (french: tours génoises de Corse, co, torri ghjenuvesi di Corsica, singular : , also ; it, torri genovesi di Corsica) are a series of coastal defences constructed by the Republic of Genoa between 1530 and 1620 to s ...
on
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
, located on the coast near Punta Mortella (
Myrtle Point) in the
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
of
Saint-Florent, Haute-Corse
Saint-Florent (; it, San Fiorenzo, ; co, San Fiurenzu, ) is a commune in Haute-Corse department on the island of Corsica, France. Originally a fishing port located in the gulf of the same name, pleasure boats have now largely taken the place of ...
. It was a progenitor of the numerous
Martello towers
Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts.
They stand up ...
the British built in the 19th century throughout their empire.
History
The Italian architect
Giovan Giacomo Paleari Fratino
Giovan Giacomo Paleari Fratino (1520–1586), known as ''El Fratin'' or ''Il Fratino'' ("The Little Friar"), was a military engineer who served the Spanish Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor Charles V, and then his son Philip II of Spain.
He is ...
designed the Tour de Mortella and Colonel Giorgio Doria directed the construction between 1563 and 1564. It was one of a series of coastal defences constructed by the
Republic of Genoa
The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Lat ...
between 1530 and 1620 to repulse attacks by
Barbary pirates
The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli. This area was known i ...
.
On 7 February 1794, two British warships, (74 guns) and (32 guns), unsuccessfully attacked the tower at Mortella Point; the tower eventually fell to land-based forces under
Major-General David Dundas and
Lieutenant-General John Moore after two days of heavy fighting.
Late in the previous year, the tower's French defenders had abandoned the tower after (32 guns) had fired two broadsides at it. The French easily dislodged the garrison of Corsican patriots that had replaced them. Still, the British were impressed by the effectiveness of the tower when it was properly supplied and defended so they copied the design. However, they misspelled the name as "Martello" for "Mortella". When the British withdrew from Corsica in 1796, they blew up the tower and left it in an unusable state.
Current status
The ruined tower was listed as one of the official
Historical Monuments of France in 1991. The database incorrectly gives the date of construction as 1553–1554. This earlier date is when Spanish and Genoese troops led by
Admiral Andrea Doria besieged the French forces occupying the port of Saint-Florent after the
Franco-Turkish invasion of the island.
Since 1980 the French government agency the ''
Conservatoire du littoral The ''Conservatoire du littoral'' ("Coastal protection agency") (official name: ''Conservatoire de l'espace littoral et des rivages lacustres'') is a French public organisation created in 1975 to ensure the protection of outstanding natural areas on ...
'' has owned and maintained the site. The ''Conservatoire'' plans to purchase of the surrounding coastline and had acquired .
See also
*
Martello Tower
Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts.
They stand up ...
*
List of Genoese towers in Corsica
This is a list of Genoese towers in Corsica, a series of coastal defense towers constructed by the Republic of Genoa between 1530 and 1620 to defend against attacks by Barbary pirates
The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman cor ...
*
Agriates Desert
The Agriates Desert or the Agriates (''désert des Agriates'' in French and ''l'Agriate'' in Corsican) is an area of Corsica split between the micro-regions of and Nebbio in Haute-Corse.
Geography
Location
The Agriates Desert is a territ ...
Citations
References
*
*
External links
* Information on how to reach 90 towers. Includes 1,261 photographs.
Towers in Corsica
Monuments historiques of Corsica
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