The Tower of Cerrano was built in 1568 at the behest of the Aragonese kingdom operating in the Kingdom of Naples on the ruins of a pre-existing tower dating back to the XIII century. The Tower, unlike the other fortified constructions of the territory that are of medieval origin, therefore presents a typically Renaissance architectural style: sober lines, moderate height of the tower and balance between full and empty elements. Surrounded by tall pine trees, stands on a small hill near the beach between Silvi and Pineto, in the province of Teramo, and houses the headquarters of the Protected Marine Area "Torre di Cerrano" and the Sea Museum.
Torre di Cerrano History
La Torre di Cerrano is one of the ancient coastal towers of the Kingdom of Naples, located on the Adriatic coast, in the province of Teramo, between Silvi Marina and Pineto; in the territory of the latter municipality, two kilometers south of the town stands out clearly on the horizon on a small hill near the beach, surrounded by a tuft of tall pine trees, in an environment of rare beauty.
Its origins can be traced back to 1251, when the Guelph Atri received from the Cardinal Pietro Capocci the concession to build a port; during the reign of Charles II of Anjou appears for the first time an "old tower" in Penna Cerrani whose reconstruction is also charged to the inhabitants of Silvi and Montepagano, who would then benefit from the possibility of hospitalization and to trade.
In the sixteenth century the threat of raids by the Saracens increased, which were particularly intense in the summer of 1556 when Abruzzo was spared the terrible devastation suffered by the Italian coast thanks to the defenses and the system of sighting points prepared by the Duke of 'Atri Giovan Girolamo D'Acquaviva. As a result, a short time later, the Viceroy Don Pedro Perafan de Ribera, Duke of Alcalà, decided that the Abruzzese coast also had to have a system of coastal towers built at such a distance that they could communicate with each other, destined not only to give 'alarm in case of enemy raids but, being equipped with garrison, even to reject hostile incursions.
The original construction of 1500, which is the core of the current complex, is formed by a massive square brick-based tower. The walls have a decreasing thickness and are therefore inclined to a pyramid, each one is crowned by four sturdy corbels and three trenches surmounted by six battlements of Guelph.
At the beginning of the 20th century the tower was bought by an officer of Marina, Pasquale Filiani who had it restored and made habitable; on the draft of the engineer Vincenzo Rosati was added the upper turret shaped like a regular parallelepiped, also crowned by six corbels on the sides and by Guelph merlons. Stairs and rooms were made in the thickness of the walls, in which several windows were opened.
In 1981 the tower was purchased by the Provincial Administration of Teramo which, after having carried out renovations and consolidation, established a Research and Studies Center in 1983; on May 21st 1983 the complex was entrusted to the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Teramo. Finally, after many years of commitment by local administrations, since 2010, according to the decree of the Ministry of the Environment, the Torre del Cerrano Marine Protected Area has been established.