Minervino Tower

The Minervino Tower is part of a complex of lookout points built by Charles V in the 16th century to prevent attacks by the Saracens. The system guaranteed the possibility of communicating between one tower and another through visual signals, fires at night and smoke during the day, so that the whole coast was alerted as soon as enemy ships were sighted from one of the towers. In this context, the Torre Minervino is fundamental as it manages to cover the sea area around Punta Palascia, the easternmost point of Puglia and Italy. Given the limited space inside the structure, it is believed that the sentries did not stay inside the tower but that they took over for guard duty. The tower was restored around 2010.

The tower is part of an extensive defensive system spread along the Apulian and overall Salento coasts, referring to the XV and XVI centuries. Its position is fundamental because it allowed to guard the sea up to Punta Palascia, the most eastern point of Italy. High base and truncated cone body, the tower has a diameter of about 9 meters at the base, a modest curb and a minor scarp crown. The barbacans are inclined and made of stone in such a way as to create machicolations. The masonry is made up of irregular stone and sealing elements made up of larger stones. The accessible space, which is accessed by the staircase obtained from the ruins, is very small, for a lookout on guard duty, perhaps without permanent settlement. The staircase is leaning against the structure and was built afterwards. The location of the watch-towers, called the "sentinels of the sea", allowed that the signals could be spread both laterally along the coast line and parallel to the internal fortified villages, thanks to the use of fire signals during the night and smoke during the day.

The view is nice and the road is easy to drive (little traffic)