Spanish Tower of Santa Maria Navarrese

The Spanish tower of Santa Maria Navarrese is a clear testimony to the problem of Saracen pirate incursions, which often hit the coastal area between Villaputzu and Arbatax. The tower was built around 1591, when as many as 40 towers existed along the Sardinian coast (today there are just over 100). The tower is in direct visual connection with that of Arbatax, a logistical solution that allowed the service garrisons in the two buildings to control the entire gulf.From here the view of the gulf is beautiful.

THE “SPANISH TOWER”The Spanish Tower of S. Maria Navarrese is clear evidence that the problem of the incursions of Saracen pirates, who often plagued the stretch of coast between Villaputzu and Arbatax, was also felt in this area. Today there are 93 coastal towers along the Sardinian coast: the first were built during the time of Charles V (1516-1556) in the middle of the 16th century, but it was only under his successor Philip II (1556-1598) that the defense system was created institutionalized with the creation of a special “Royal Administration of the Towers” in 1581, which, in addition to overseeing the planning and construction of new towers, also had to manage in detail the costs and repairs of existing towers. The Spanish Tower of S. Maria, strangely known by the name “Saracen Tower” although it was built to combat piracy, according to historians, it was built around 1591, when it was all along the Sardinian coast....

...spread over three levels. On the ground floor, a door gives access to a large hall, while the first and second floors can be reached via an external staircase that ends in front of the first floor entrance door. A narrow ladder on the wall leads to the second floor; Another staircase leads to the terrace. In the 1960s the tower was used as an office and was used by the financial police for a long time. Since the 1980s, the tower has again been under the control of the municipality of Baunei, thanks in part to a kind of popular uprising.Source: turismobaunei.eu automatically translated