Fenomeni di incastellamento lungo il litorale cilentano

In the Angevin age, the Cilento coast was the most exposed to enemy attacks. Charles I already from 1269 ordered to “repair and fortify the towers of the Kingdom for defense against pirates” and with the War of the Vespers this danger intensified. The Angevins therefore created the first complete and permanent defense and signaling system that extended to the coasts. The first study concerning the fortified architecture of central-southern Italy was carried out in the 1980s by Lucio Santoro (Santoro, 1982) who analyzed the buildings of the Angevin royal commission and carried out a typological analysis of the towers, highlighting the differences with respect to the previous constructions of the Norman era. This contribution aims to analyze the traces of this defensive system, with particular reference to the Amalfi area, rich in towers and ruins that still testify to the original unitary character of the complex, which has now been lost. Through the analysis of two case studies, the Torre dello Ziro and the Torre Assiola, we also want to question the role that these artifacts can play in the contemporary landscape, highlighting the issues relating to their protection and conservation and the image we have received.