HISTORICAL ITINERARY: GUARD TOWERS, FORTRESSES AND HEADLIGHTS
BETWEEN TORRE SVEVA (VENDICARI) AND TORRE CABRERA (POZZALLO)

The towers that existed along the coastline of the Terre dei due Mari played a fundamental role. Their strategic position made it a unique and privileged point of sight. All the coastline and the sea facing were in sight, in defense of pirate raids. Guard towers, forts, chargers, were solid structures built to withstand external attacks and to last. Thanks to this some of them have been perfectly preserved, and today they tell us stories and legends of a mythical past. Inside the Vendicari Reserve, as if to protect the territory behind it, the Sveva Tower shows off. Presumably built around the XIII century AD, the tower would have had the temporary function of a loader, a deposit of foodstuffs arriving or leaving the small port of Vendicari. Known in fact, according to a document dated 1396, he was allowed to market foodstuffs through the airport of the current nature reserve. The tower looks like a large building, with a rectangular plan, composed of large blocks of limestone. On the top the corners have corbels, added later, probably built to hold the balconies to accommodate the lookouts, cannons or boxes that allowed the protective function of the tower. In the Belvedere area of ​​Torre Fano, in the territory of Pachino, the remains of a tower for signaling and controlling the sea are still visible, one of the most ancient watchtowers, probably dated around 700 BC. In this period, in fact, Syracuse, the capital of Magna Graecia, had control of the entire sea facing the territories of its relevance. Torre Fano was used as a guide for sailors who dubbed the two seas, but also for the control of the sea against Punic raids. It maintained this function also during the Roman and Byzantine period. A system of watchtowers was then organized from the Norman period. Torre Fano, given its unique position (at the southernmost tip of Sicily), maintained its function for many centuries. On the island of Capo Passero, there is a valuable work of military architecture, built in the early 1600s, the Royal Spanish Fortress. The construction of this defensive structure lasted for about 35 years, lengthy due to changes resulting from changes in power, completions and valuable enrichments. He was always garrisoned by military garrisons, all of Spanish nationality, apart from the Italian barber and chaplain. The fort served as a bulwark to defend the entire coast against the incursions of the Ottomans for over two centuries, without ever being conquered. Resisted unscathed even to the disastrous earthquake of 11 January 1693, an earthquake that destroyed many towns in the Val di Noto. From 1871, with the construction of a small lighthouse, was guarded by the Navy for the night lighting of the same. Currently, being equipped with automatic ignition, the guardian service is no longer active. The southernmost lighthouse in Europe is that of the Isola delle Correnti. A small island, in the shape of a drop, joined to the mainland by an isthmus that alternates its "presences" as a function of tides and storms. The island of the two Seas is the one that stands at the center of all the passages, currents and movements between the Ionian and the Mediterranean. Outstanding for its geographical position is the terminal point, opposite to Trieste, of the "Path of Italy": one of the longest trekking routes in the world (about 5,500 km). Up until a few decades ago, the lighthouse keeper lived with his family on the island. In addition to the guardian's house, a military structure, managed until recently by the Navy, is still visible. Going back to the hinterland in the territory of Pachino, it is possible to visit Torre Xibini. It was built at the end of 1400 by the baron owner of the surrounding feuds, both for his personal prestige and to defend the lands and crops from pirate raids. Of the ancient tower remains the square-shaped base and the eastern side of the walls, just over 10 meters high. The coat of arms of the family, sculpted in limestone and an inscription in Latin, is visible on the façade. We admire the most impressive monument in Pozzallo: it is Torre Cabrera. This too was a watchtower, built by King Alfonzo V of Aragon in the early fifteenth century. The tower was placed to defend the loader: a complex of warehouses of strategic importance, positioned on the coast and complete with slides and jetties for boarding goods on sailing ships (especially wheat, produced in huge quantities in the county of Modica). This site, in terms of importance and value, was the second in Sicily. The Torre Cabrera was the central fulcrum from which the entire settlement of Pozzallo developed and today is a national monument and symbol of the city.

Source GAC dei due mari