The coastal towers were of two types: for alarm and for defense. The first were round in shape and served as lookout points for pirate ships. The second were square shaped, larger and more massive. The guard towers were also called horse towers because their custodians, called tower-keepers, were assisted by men on horseback, who day and night patrolled the area between them.

Coastal lookout tower on the Lamentine Gulf

The towers stood at a distance of 3.5 kilometers from each other, so that each one was visible from two others, and messages could reach to any part of the kingdom in 24 hours. In case of danger, the horsemen sounded the alarm to the tower-keeper who then signaled the danger to neighboring towers by means of fire at night and smoke by day, which also warned the population to seek a safe place of refuge. The ruins of some of these coastal towers remain on the plain of S. Eufemia: the tower of Lupo (i.e. of the wolf), the tower of Capo Ogliastro, of S. Caterina, Lamato tower, Lacconia tower, and Mezza Praia tower.

Coastal tower of Mezza Praia

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