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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The tower of Roccapina, also known as Torra di Roccapina in Corsica, is a Genoese tower in ruins located in the municipality of Sartène, in the department of South Corsica. Its construction was planned as early as 1573 in a document planning the last phase of construction of the coastal towers of the island. Initially run by the Camera (genoese institution), its maintenance and garrison were privatized before the end of the seventeenth century, and it ceased to be kept in the early eighteenth century.

The tower adopts a typical circular structure, with three levels: a blind base, a floor pierced by a door, and a terrace. Traditional mâchicoulis are replaced by braces. Inside, the room on the first floor is vaulted with a dome, and a well serves a tank. The stairhouse of the terrace has now disappeared. The tower was listed as a historic monument by decree of 29 July 1994, although it is now privately owned.

Its architecture reflects the defensive needs of Genoese-dominated Corsica, with local adaptations such as the early privatization of its management. The Genoese towers, scattered along the coast, were used to monitor the coasts and to guard against barbaric incursions, while structuring the territory through a signalling network between the forward posts.

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