Porto - Corsica

From a spanish island to a french island, now i've a card from Corsica. This is the 1549 quadrangular Genoese watchtower overlooking the sheltered Golf of Porto.

The card was sent by Telenn.

Photo by Pierre Dominique Natali

The Genoese towers are vestiges of the Genoese heritage after their occupation of Corsica.

The Corsican littoral is constellated with these towers, which are now one of the symbols of the island. These vestiges are classified Monuments historiques (historic buildings).
The construction of these towers started in the 16th century, at the request of village communities to protect themselves against the pirates.
These towers continued to cause multiple problems for the Genoese authorities; their isolated locations made them prime targets for pirates and constructional defects caused collapses. Several inventories of the towers were carried out but no precise number could be determined. The Republic of Genoa also had to deal with many financial conflicts, quarrels of communities, defection of guards, unpaid debts, and requests for supplies or weapons.

Consequently, from the end of the 17th century, and until 1768, date of the conquest of the island by France, the number of maintained towers decreased considerably.  By the end of the 18th century, few towers were still intact.
Today the Genoese towers represent a considerable heritage. Of the 85 towers existing at the beginning of the 18th century, 67 still stand today. Some are in ruins; others are in very good state. - in: wikipedia