South Italy Castles and Coastal Towers

The History of Coastal Towers goes hand in hand the political and military evolution of the Kingdom of Naples. Fortifications were built in Southern Italy over and eight-hundred-year period from the 9^th to the 17^th centuries. The original towers were cylindrical in shape, tall and with small windows. Their main function was to sound the alarm when pirate ships were sighted through the lightning of fires, allowing the local population to find shelter into the hills and grottoes inland from the coast.

Increased Raids during the 16^th Century led to Development of More Complex Coastal Defenses

Naples Viceroy Don Pedro of Toledo ordered the construction of massive, square-shaped towers with thicker external walls. The transition from circular-shaped towers to square-shaped ones was spurred by the introduction of artillery requiring fortifications whose functions now included sighting, signaling, shelter as well as the use of offensive weapons that could hit a ship approaching the coast.

Communications were carried out through a series of visual signals - smoke in the daytime, fires by night as well as acoustic signals such as bells, or shots from a cannon or arquebus, a precursor of the rifle. When a pirate ship was sighted from one tower, one of these signals would be used to warn the people of the area to prepare to fight or flee. The signal would be passed from tower to tower, up and down the coast, passing the word quickly and effectively. The ground level floor had no windows and was set directly above a large cistern to guarantee a constant water supply. This space was used to store food and munitions and also contained a millstone for grinding wheat, making the tower self-sufficient.

Saracen Towers can be viewed along the Southern Italian coastline from Gaeta to the Sorrento peninsula, the Amalfi and Cilento coasts. There are over 350 towers, including 30 along the coastal strip from Vietri sul Mare to Positano. Some have been restored and incorporated into modern buildings in small harbors such as San Marco, Pisciotta and Marina di Camerota. Further south, around Cape Infreschi just before reaching Scario, there are cliffs along the coast unreachable by road; here the original coastal towers stand just a few hundred yards apart.

The Term Saracen has shifted over time. Ptolemy's Geography from the second century mentions Sarakene as a region in the northern Sinai Peninsula and refers to a people called the Sarakenoi. For Italians during the middle ages it meant Muslim invader, from the Arabs who rode the initial wave of Islamic expansion into Spain and Sicily in the 8^th and 9^thcenturies to the Ottoman Turks who took Constantinople in the 15^th century.

Coastal Watchtowers were also as a point of reference for friendly ships. The towers were generally manned by a military team of four guards and a horseman, who often remained outside the tower ready to ride into town to carry a warning as soon as possible.

The Wines of Campania

Romans Greeks Sannio Irpinia DOCG DOC IGT Aglianico Greco Falanghina Falerno Fiano

The Romans favored the vineyards along the coast north of Naples where Falernian, the most treasured wine of the empire, was grown. They also praised the wines of volcanic Vesuvius and the wooded hills of Avellino.

The Greeks introduced Vines Which Still Stand Out Today as Aglianico Greco and Falanghina

In Campania, wine producers make the most of native vines, including an honor roll of archaeological varieties which dates back to antiquity. The noblest of red varieties is Aglianico, which makes the red Taurasi, as well as the red Falerno del Massico.

Taurasi is Known as the Barolo of the South

Greco is the base of Fiano di Avellino and Greco di Tufo. Falanghina is the base of the white version of Falernian. Campania’s DOC zones also include the islands of Capri and Ischia, as well as the recently revived Penisola Sorrentina and Costa d’Amalfi, produced in terraced seaside vineyards from Sorrento to Amalfi.

Campania Appellations: DOCG Fiano di Avellino, Greco di Tufo, Taurasi DOC Aglianico del Taburno, Aversa, Campi Flegrei, Capri, Castel San Lorenzo, Cilento, Costa d’Amalfi, Falerno del Massico, Galluccio, Guardiolo, Irpinia, Ischia, Penisola Sorrentina, Sannio, Sant’Agata dei Goti, Solopaca, Taburno, VesuvioIGT Beneventano, Campania, Colli di Salerno, Dugenta, Epomeo, Irpinia, Paestum, Pompeiano, Roccamonfina, Terra del Volturno.

Irpinia the rail line linking Avellino and Rocchetta Sant’Antonio was known as the Wine Line; such was the importance of wine productionin this area. Avellino County features Greco di Tufo, Taurasi and Fiano.

The Fiano di Avellino takes its name from the variety that the Latins called Vitis Apiana because the vine’s grapes were so sweet that they proved irresistible to bees (api). Highly appreciated in the Middle Ages; an order for three salme – a measure – of Fiano is entered in the register of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and Charles d’Anjou had 16,000 Fiano vines planted in the royal vineyards.

Dry Fiano Features Scents of Toasted Hazelnuts

Greco di Tufo is the oldest variety of the Avellino area. It was imported from the Greek region of Thessaly asconfirmed by the discovery of a fresco in Pompeii. The Greco variety was originally cultivated on the slopes of Vesuvius, where it was given the name Lacryma Christi. It was later planted in the province of Avellino, where it was given the denomination Greco di Tufo.

Taurasi is the center of the production of the red wine of the same name; is a wine of great body and structure, dry and austere, with an aromatic vein. The wine must be aged for three years, of which one in chestnut or oak casks. In the three succeeding years, the wine can be tasted in the fullness of its quality and is particularly good as an accompaniment to roasted red meats.

Aglianico was Introduced at the Founding of Cumae the Grapes are Round and Blue in Color

Sannio is a hilly area where the best land has always been used for growing grapevines. The climatic conditions here are ideal for the ripening of grapes. Pliny, Columella, Cato and Horace have written on the excellence of the wines produced from the historical grapevines of Samnium – Aglianico, Coda di Volpe, Falanghina, Fiano, Greco, Moscato, Piedirosso, and Sciascinoso.
Aglianico is a red-grape variety that is widely diffused in Basilicata and in Campania in the provinces of Avellino and Benevento, where it is known by the names of Gnanico, Agliatica, Ellenico, Ellanica and Uva Nera. The production zone of the Aglianico del Taburno in the province of Benevento is a district of high hills that is subject to particularly severe winters.

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