The Tower of Portu ( co, Torra di Portu) 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 ...
located 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
Ota (
Corse-du-Sud
Corse-du-Sud (; co, link=no, Corsica suttana , or ; en, Southern Corsica) is (as of 2019) an administrative department of France, consisting of the southern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collect ...
) on the west coast of the
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 ...
. The tower sits on a rocky outcrop at a height of in the
Gulf of Porto.
The construction of the Tower of Portu began in around 1551. 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 stem the 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 ...
. The tower was one of the earliest towers built on the west coast of Corsica. The design of the tower is unusual in being square rather than round. It is owned by the department and in 1946 was listed as one of the official
historical monuments of France.
See also
*
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
The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and ear ...
References
External links
* Includes information on how to reach 90 towers and many photographs.
Towers in Corsica
Monuments historiques of Corsica
{{Corsica-struct-stub