Torre Paola, the watchtower against the pirates

The scenic Torre Paola (Paola’s Tower) is where the coastal dunes end right at the feet of the Circeo promontory. Of remarkable historical-architectonical interest, Torre Paola was erected to defend the entrance of the port-channel right below, This canal was already built during the Roman Age and connect the Paola's Lake with the sea. From Torre Paola, after almost 2,5 miles (4 km), a road with sharp curves rise to the small San Felice Circeo, an ancient hamlet.

The history of this sea watchtower is rather long and animated. Vertically facing the sea, Torre Paola rises on one of the rocky on the west cliffs Mt Circeo, just above the canals connecting Paola’s Lake to the sea. The watch tower had to be round with three floors with the entrance on the first floor, protected by a footbridge, which could have been raised and shut in the event of sudden raids.

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Around 1570, the Pope Pius IV ordered to the powerful local landowners, the Caetani family, to build four watch towers against the continuous invasions of the Saracen pirates. The best location was along the cliffs of the Mt Circeo. The result were four watch towers: Paola, Moresca, Cervia and Fico Towers. During the realization of the towers, masters and the workers with few soldiers were attacked by some pirates landed a little further and descended from the mountains.

The towers were soon knocked down easily. Therefore, later on, it was decided to build the towers with a shield as an additional parapet, turned to the ground, in the arm square to protect the soldiers from attacks launched from the mountains on their back.

In May 1720, Paola Tower guardians were corrupted by the terrible Saracen pirates. A Tunisian ship managed to land on the northern coast of the Circeo. The guardians, perpetrated another betrayal by leading the pirates right under the walls of the hamlet and letting down once more their same village. Later on, Torre Paola was again in the history, this time during the block of Napoleon against the English, who in 1809, attacked the old tower in the attempt of destroying it, as they did with the other three towers; but, this time a though defense and a precise and deadly fire from the tower, forced them to withdraw and abandon the attack.

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