Tour de la Parata

Tour de la Parata
Coordinates 41°53′43″N 8°36′30″E / 41.89528°N 8.60833°E / 41.89528; 8.60833Coordinates: 41°53′43″N 8°36′30″E / 41.89528°N 8.60833°E / 41.89528; 8.60833
Built 1550-1551
Architect Giacomo Lombardo
Location of Tour de la Parata in Corsica

The Tour de la Parata (Corsican: Torra di a Parata) is a ruined Genoese tower located in the commune of Ajaccio (Corse-du-Sud) on the west coast of the French island of Corsica. The tower sits at an elevation of 55 m (180 ft) on a rocky promontory, the Pointe de la Parata, to the north-east of the Îles Sanguinaires archipelago.

The tower was built in 1550-1551 by Giacomo Lombardo. It was one of a series of coastal defences constructed by the Republic of Genoa between 1530 and 1620 to stem the attacks by Barbary pirates.[1] The tower is 12 m (39 ft) in height and has a diameter of 7.3 m (24 ft) at the level of the roof platform. It contains two vaulted rooms, one above the other.[2]

In the surviving Genoese documents the tower is called the Sanguinera di Terra. A similar tower which once sat on the highest point of the Grande Sanguinaire island was called the Sanguinera di Fuori or the Sanguinera di Mare.[3] The Grande Sanguinaire tower was demolished in the 19th century when the existing lighthouse was constructed.[4] A second small tower at the south-west end of the Grande Sanguinaire island has survived. In a Genoese document it is referred to as the torretta piccola (little tower). It is now called the Tour de Castelluccio.[5]

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