Forte di Capo Passero, Portopalo di capo Passero, Italy

Fort di Capo Passero is located on a small island Isola di Capo Passero. It was commissioned in 1599 by the crown of Spain. Developed by Giovanni Antonio del Nobile, a German-sicilian architect, the fort was built to combat the dangers of severe and violent pirate activity in the Mediterranean region. Throughout the years, the fort remained a highly sought after naval resource as it was the guardian of the entrance to Europe. Whoever controlled the fort was considered to control the entrance to Europe.

During the 18th century the fort was used as a military prison. However on December 30, 1866 a Royal Decree halted military prison activity in the fort. In 1871 a lighthouse was built in the terrace of the fort, which was operated by the Italian Navy until it was fully decommissioned in the late 1950s.

References:

Wikipedia

Castles and fortifications in Italy

User Reviews

Giacomo Anelli (2 years ago)
Spectacular extreme point of Italy.

Fabrizio Pivari (2 years ago)
Majestic fort overlooking the island

ant anto (3 years ago)
Military fortress located on the island of the same name, in a predominant and strategic position for sightings in the surrounding marine area. The massive structure, usual for constructions of this type, characterizes its appearance and gives it an aura of solidity, which however (precisely for these reasons) does not constitute anything particularly refined from an artistic point of view, although it exercises a certain charm for lovers of this genre

Sierra india Mike Oscar (3 years ago)
Seen from the sea it is a very quiet and beautiful location. The water below is clean and crystal clear. The seabed is about 10 meters. Possibility to rent a boat and / or raft to admire the fantastic monument or bathe in the splendid Sicilian waters. Isolotto located south of the eastern coast of Sicily.

Ele Paderi (3 years ago)
Most south-eastern point of Sicily. Once connected to the mainland, today the island can be reached by boat or by boat from Scalo Mandrie, or by swimming due to its proximity. It is said that during low tide it is possible to reach it on foot. The islet is not inhabited and if to the south there is a beautiful beach, continually shaped by winds and tides, to the north the coast is rocky and dominated by a fort, built by Emperor Charles V

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Broch of Gurness

The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick. The tower was likely inhabited by the principal family or clan of the area but also served as a last resort for the village in case of an attack.

The broch continued to be inhabited while it began to collapse and the original structures were altered. The cistern was filled in and the interior was repartitioned. The ruin visible today reflects this secondary phase of the broch's use.

The site is surrounded by three ditches cut out of the rock with stone ramparts, encircling an area of around 45 metres diameter. The remains of numerous small stone dwellings with small yards and sheds can be found between the inner ditch and the tower. These were built after the tower, but were a part of the settlement's initial conception. A 'main street' connects the outer entrance to the broch. The settlement is the best-preserved of all broch villages.

Pieces of a Roman amphora dating to before 60 AD were found here, lending weight to the record that a 'King of Orkney' submitted to Emperor Claudius at Colchester in 43 AD.

At some point after 100 AD the broch was abandoned and the ditches filled in. It is thought that settlement at the broch continued into the 5th century AD, the period known as Pictish times. By that time the broch was not used anymore and some of its stones were reused to build smaller dwellings on top of the earlier buildings. Until about the 8th century, the site was just a single farmstead.

In the 9th century, a Norse woman was buried at the site in a stone-lined grave with two bronze brooches and a sickle and knife made from iron. Other finds suggest that Norse men were buried here too.

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