Tour de Cargèse

Tour de Cargèse
Coordinates 42°7′59″N 8°35′22″E / 42.13306°N 8.58944°ECoordinates: 42°7′59″N 8°35′22″E / 42.13306°N 8.58944°E
Built 16051606
Architect Giacomo della Piana
Location of Tour de Cargèse in Corsica

The Tour de Cargèse (French: Torra di Carghjese) is a ruined Genoese tower located in the commune of Cargèse on the French island of Corsica. Only the base of the tower has survived. It sits on the highest point of the headland at an elevation of 157 meters above the sea.

The Tour de Cargèse was built between 1605 and 1606 under the direction of Giacomo della Piana. It was one of a series of coastal defences constructed by the Republic of Genoa between 1530 and 1620 to stem the attacks by Barbary pirates.[1][2]

Drawing from the Genoese archives showing the tower immediately after construction.

Notes and references

  1. "Canton: Les Deux-Servi - L'architecture militaire" (in French). Direction Régional des Affaires Culturelles de Corse (DRAC). Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  2. Graziani, Antoine-Marie (2000). "Les ouvrages de défense en Corse contre les Turcs (1530-1650)". In Vergé-Franceschi, Michel; Graziani, Antoine-Marie. La guerre de course en Méditerranée (1515-1830) (in French). Paris: Presses de l'Université Paris IV-Sorbonne. pp. 143–144. ISBN 2-84050-167-8.

Further reading