Visit Torre di Longonsardo, Santa Teresa Gallura, Sardinia, Italy

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The Torre di Longonsardo (Longonsardo tower), also known as the Santa Teresa tower,is a Sardinian coastal tower located on the promontory that divides the bays of Santa Reparata and Porto Longone, in Santa Teresa Gallura. The truncated conical tower develops on a circular base with a diameter of 19 m. Entirely made of granite, the 11 m high structure has a single entrance located at a height of 6 m, which can be reached via a metal staircase, added during the Second World War to replace the old rope ladders. Inside there is access to a large room with a circular plan, with a diameter of 10 m; the room, illuminated by a single lancet window to the north-east and covered by a domed vault supported by a central pillar, houses a basin carved into the stone next to the south-east wall. Below is the cistern intended to collect rainwater, while at the top, which can be reached from the inside via a spiral staircase, there is a terrace, on which two cannons were originally placed; from the latter, through a series of loopholes, the surrounding landscape is dominated. Around the tower, to the north, some traces of the walls of the eighteenth-century ravelin remain, while no remains of the coeval crescent are preserved.  On the promontory to protect the port of Longonsardo, a surveillance garrison was established as early as 1556, but after just a few years the need arose to make it more efficient through the construction of a solid structure, capable of responding better to attacks from the sea; [3] the works on the new building were probably started around 1577 and were certainly completed by 1599. The tower was part of the defensive system wanted by King Philip II of Spain, in order to protect the Sardinian coast from looting by the Saracens and the Berbers who came from North Africa.  In the following decades the building was rearranged on various occasions, until it was completely restructured in 1777 and reinforced in 1791 at the behest of the Savoys , who took possession of the island in 1720; during the last adaptation works, a ravelin was placed against the base of the tower , while a lookout sentry box was added to the terrace; moreover, a crescent was built in the parade ground to house the garrison.  In June 1802, during the anti-Savoy insurrection aimed at establishing a Sardinian-Corsican republic, the building was conquered by the rebels led by the priest Francesco Sanna Corda; after a short time the Savoyard troops counterattacked and, during the bitter clashes, overwhelmed the priest, who died at the foot of the tower; at the end of the battle, the royal army took back the building and all the rebels were sentenced to death.  In the following years the structure was repaired on a few occasions, until it was abandoned in 1846 following the suppression of the Royal administration of the towers. The building fell more and more into decay, so much so that, around 1930, the sentry boxes collapsed to the ground.  During the Second World War the tower was partially repaired to house a parachute unit and was equipped with a new access stairway.  Later the building and the surrounding area were fully recovered, in order to make them open to the public; during the works, the ancient cistern for collecting water was found.

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