Torre della Pelosa

The Pelosa tower is a tower that is part of the complex of fortified structures that, from the early Middle Ages until the mid-nineteenth century, constituted the defense, sighting and communication system of the coastal strip of Sardinia. It is situated on a small island located between Isola Piana and Capo Falcone right at the entrance to the Strait of Asinara, a strategic position for controlling the traffic of boats that from the "sea outside" headed for the low and sandy coast of the Gulf of Asinara, easily violated in case of an assault on the coastal communities in the area. It is in visual contact with the towers of Isola Piana and Capo Falcone.

The tower takes its name from the nearby beach originally called "Sa palosa," probably due to the presence of sea straw deposited there in abundance. It has a truncated cone shape, a diameter at the base of 16 m, a height of 10 m, and a perimeter wall thickness of about 2.5 m. It is built of the local stone, schist, and is located at an elevation of three meters above sea level. The hatchway is located six meters above the ground and, as with most coastal towers in Sardinia, access to the tower was by means of rope or rung ladders that could be easily retracted in case of danger.

The chamber has a mushroom-shaped vault supported by a central pillar and is divided into three compartments, each of them equipped with a loophole; to the left of the hatchway, carved inside the perimeter wall, is a narrow and steep staircase by which one accessed the terrace or parade ground. Above the terrace was the so-called "crescent," a light structure in the shape of a semicircle made of tiles and reeds, which rested on the parapet, made to provide shelter for soldiers and ammunition.

The Pelosa tower was built with certainty before 1578, a date when a document signed by Viceroy De Moncada already mentions the need to intervene for repairs. Other documents report that the typology of the tower was of the de armas or gagliarda type, that is, of heavy defense, and that the garrison to garrison it consisted of the commander, the alcaide, an artilleryman and three or four soldiers who had at their disposal an armament consisting of three large-caliber cannons, a spingarda and some rifles.

The tower was decommissioned in 1846, four years after the suppression of the Royal Tower Administration, the institution that managed the island's coastal defense system.