In the southern part of the island of Sant’Antioco, at Turri, stands a watchtower that was built under the rule of Count Lorenzo Bogino. Indeed, he reorganized the administration of the coastal towers erected under the Spanish rule of King Philip II. Long before, the citizens of Iglesias, who were interested in cultivating land on the island of Sant’Antioco, had already addressed a plea to the king of Sardinia, in which they offered their help in building towers on the island.
Charles Emmanuel III, therefore, instructed Viceroy Cacherano of Bricherasio to arrange for the construction of the two towers already planned on the island. In 1757 the tower designed by the military engineer Vallin was built: it stands on cape su moru, a southern promontory of the island of Sant’Antioco, now called Turri.
Turkish flotillas used to anchor in this stretch of sea until the early decades of the 19th century. The tower carried out important sighting and news reporting to the military units in charge of the defense of the island of Sant’Antioco during the attempted French invasion of 1793 and during the last two Tunisian raids of 1812 and 1815 on the island.
Canai’s tower remained active until 1815. In recent times the tower was used as a tourist residence by a private individual who, for this purpose, remodeled it in a questionable manner.
Only since 1994 has it finally been returned to collective use by the Italia Nostra association, which, after obtaining it under concession, carried out restoration work in collaboration with the Cagliari Superintendency of Cultural Heritage and the Ministry of the Environment. Inside is a photographic and cartographic exhibition on the cultural and naturalistic aspects of the island of Sant’Antioco with a section dedicated to the historical events of the Tower. An incomparable panorama of the Gulf of Palmas can also be appreciated from the Square of Arms.
