Torre del Telegrafo, Ascea, Semaphore tower in Ascea, Italy.

Torre del Telegrafo is a ruined square-based tower with a truncated-pyramidal profile on the Punta del Telegrafo, the rocky headland at the southern end of Ascea Marina's sandy beach. It stands above a cliff facing the Pietra di Nante islet, within the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park.

The tower was built in the 16th century as a defensive structure for the Kingdom of Naples against pirate raids and maritime attacks. It formed part of a broader coastal protection strategy during an era when sea-based threats were constant.

The tower functioned as one link in a chain of lookout posts scattered across the coastline that exchanged signals to warn nearby settlements of threats at sea. The structure reflects how people organized their defense by connecting isolated communities through visual communication.

The tower itself is a ruin in very poor condition, so the walkable goal is the panoramic spot above it, reached by the Sentiero degli Innamorati opened in July 2017. The path ends at the edge of a steep cliff dropping to the sea, and the small beaches south of the headland can still only be reached by boat.

Punta del Telegrafo is the locus typicus of Genista cilentina, a broom species recognised as a distinct species in 1993 by Franca Valsecchi, who separated it from Genista ephedroides. The low gariga scrub around the ruin is where it grows; other stations are known near Torre Caprioli and between Montecorice, Serramezzana and Castellabate.