Ancient Italian History

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

  Italian Watchtowers & The Saracen Pirates

More than a thousand years of attacks from Turkey and North Africa resulted in the construction of coastal watchtowers on the islands of Sicily, Sardinia and the coasts of the Ionian, Adriatic and Tyherranian seas. Hundreds were built and some of these towers stand as they did a thousand years ago, others are partial remains or piles of rocks; still others have been restored and serve as restaurants, hotels and B&B’s. These towers have become known as the Saracen Towers, Torre Saracena. During the reign of the Ottoman Empire, Saracen Pirates raided the western European coasts and captured more than one million people, who were then sold in slave markets, put into harems or were chained to the oars on Turkish war ships. The most infamous of these Saracen Pirates was Pasha Heyreddin, known as Barbarossa. He was one of three brothers who were the most feared pirates of their time.

The story of the coastal watchtowers and Barbarossa is told in the award winning documentary, “Barbarossa and the Towers of Italy.”  http://www.cinemanewswire.com/Barbarossa.html

 

 More Barbarossa information:       www.barbarossaandthetowers.com    www.barbarossahotels.com