Torri costiere del XV-XVII secolo all’isola d’Elba

Elba Island, due to its geographical position at the center of the contested Mediterranean region among Italy, France, and Spain, and its environmental resources (minerals and salt), has always been subject to incursions and dominations. For this reason, Elban landscape, understood as the result of socio-economic, cultural, and architectural configurations evolving over time, has developed a characteristic settlement pattern based on the relationship between highlands and the coastline. Around the 5th century, settlement model of Hilltop Fortresses established itself as a sedentary model, and many of the sites founded during that period are still visible today due to the continuity of architectural usage, facilitated by the construction of additional fortresses by the Pisans around the 15th and 16th centuries. Different historical developments are followed by fortified structures located along the coastlines (especially in Marina di Campo, Marciana Marina, and Rio Marina), which take the form of watchtowers integrating into coastal defense and surveillance systems during the 16th century. The study analyzes the various types of existing fortifications, based on bibliographic and iconographic research, along with surveying and material analysis, aiming to create informative models for the digitization, management, and enhancement of the fortified heritage of Elba.