Torra di Seneca, Genoese tower in Luri, France

Torra di Seneca is a ruined round stone tower, actually a keep, standing on a rocky peak at 564 metres between Pino and Luri. Its flat top and small openings overlook the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian seas. The tower rests directly on jagged, layered rock, with low green and brown vegetation on the slope below.

A feudal castle, the Castellu dei Motti, was built here in the 11th or 12th century by the Peverelli lords on a prehistoric site; it was ruined in the popular revolt of 1357–1358 led by notables such as Sambucucciu d'Alandu. In 1390 Giovanni Da Mare erected a new castle on the spot, overrun around 1470 by the inhabitants of Barrettalli under Pieretto de Falello de Leca. Only the keep survived, later called Torre di Seneca; French forces took it from 1556 to 1559.

The name Torre di Seneca links the ruin to the Roman philosopher Seneca, who according to tradition was exiled for eight years in Cap Corse; nothing proves he stayed here. The tower stands on the border between Pino and Luri, and the site is reached past the former Saint-Nicolas convent, now converted into gîtes called Les Gîtes Sénèque.

From the parking area at the former Saint-Nicolas convent, a path climbs through high maquis to the tower. The site sits at 564 m, straddling Pino and Luri; access is from the col de Sainte-Lucie at 381 m via a small road to the convent.

The site was formerly home to a Roman watchtower where the philosopher Seneca reportedly spent eight years in exile according to local tradition. This connection to the ancient figure continues to shape the name and local identity of the place today.