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Origin and history

The Genoese tower of Capo-di-Muro was built between 1580 and 1617 on the north coast of the Capu di Muru peninsula, in the present town of Coti-Chiavari (South Corsica). It was part of the coastal defence network set up by the Republic of Genoa to protect the island from barbaric incursions and foreign invasions. This round tower, covered with a mâchicoulis terrace, was under the jurisdiction of Ajaccio and was under the control of the Camera, a Genoese institution. Originally guarded by a chief and two soldiers, it was distinguished by complete interior arrangements: a large niche, a tank well, a fireplace and an oven, as well as a staircase leading to the terrace.

At the end of the seventeenth century, the tower was privatized, losing its initial military use. In 1857, she was assigned to the service of the Lighthouses and Tags, marking a change of vocation towards a more civilian role. Its architecture, typical of Corsican Genoese towers, combines a large granite bellows device and an access door located on the floor, probably accessible by a removable ladder. The tower is unique in the disappearance of the platform that once covered the shelter of its staircase, an observable element on its terrace.

The tower of Capo-di-Muro is part of a broader historical context: that of the conflicts between Genoa, the local Corsican lords (such as the d'Ornano, masters of the eponymous seigneury in the 16th century), and the foreign powers (France, Ottoman Empire). Coti-Chiavari was a strategic area, often disputed between noble families and Genoese authorities. The construction of this tower, alongside those of Castagna and Capu Neru, was in response to an increased desire to control the western coast of Corsica, then threatened by barbaric raids and European rivalries.

In the 19th century, the tower definitely lost its defensive role, integrating Corsican architectural heritage. Classified as a Historical Monument by decree of 22 April 1994, it today bears witness to Genoese military engineering and the turbulent history of pre-modern Corsica. Its state of conservation, although partial (disappearance of certain elements such as the staircase platform), allows us to study construction techniques and spatial organization of Genoese coastal towers.

The Capo-di-Muro site, with its cliffs and subsequent lighthouse, also illustrates the evolution of coastal uses, from defence to maritime signage. The tower remains a symbol of Corsican heritage, linked to a period when the island was a major geopolitical issue in the Mediterranean.

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