Torra di Mortella, Genoese tower on Mediterranean coast in Saint-Florent, France.
Torra di Mortella is a circular stone tower standing on a rocky promontory near Saint-Florent, visible from a distance along the coast. The structure shows a clear vertical division where the upper section was damaged during military action and rebuilt with different materials.
The tower was built in the middle of the 16th century to defend the Gulf of Saint-Florent from seaborne attacks. It stood for over two centuries as a working defense post until maritime threats to the region eventually declined.
The tower was part of a large defensive network that the Republic of Genoa built along Corsica's coast to protect settlements from raids. Local people and travelers used such structures as shelters and lookout posts during a time when coastal areas faced constant threats.
The tower sits on a headland that is accessible by walking paths, allowing visitors to approach it from different angles. The best time to visit is earlier in the day when the sun does not create harsh shadows on the structure.
The British Army later built similar towers throughout their empire and named them Martello towers due to a misspelling of this site's name. This naming mistake became so widespread that the term stayed and is still used today for such structures worldwide.
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