Point of Interest
The Linguella Tower
Dove
Portoferraio, isola d'Elba (LI)
Also known as Passannante's Tower after the anarchist Passannante, who was imprisoned here followed his failed assassination attempt of King Umberto I, the tower has a fascinating history from its Medici origins to the contemporary age.
The Linguella Archaeological Museum is housed in the former Salt Warehouses in the Linguella Fortress. This defensive structure was built in 1548 upon request of Cosimo de Medici and is part of the system of fortifications which protected Portoferraio and the riches of Elba. Inside, overlooking the sea, stands the Torre della Linguella, or Torre del Martello, a jewel of Medici military architecture which was previously connected with a long chain to the Torre del Gallo, on the opposite side of the harbour. The use of a chain to control the passage of ships was first used by centuries earlier by the Byzantines who controlled the Golden Horn in Istanbul. The chain could be raised or lowered below water level depending on whether access was to be granted or denied to the safe waters of the harbour.
The ancient octagonal tower houses large exhibition spaces and a panoramic terrace with views across the sea.
The coastal tower has a striking octagonal shape, with a clearly visible base which houses the lowest floor of the structure. Six of the tower’s eight sides rest directly on the rock under the sea.
The tower continued to serve both as a watchtower and as a warehouse until the second half of the 18th century, when the Grand Dukes of Lorraine decommissioned it and turned it into a prison. It remained in use until the opening of the larger prison inside Fort Longone in Porto Azzurro in the late 19th century.
Among the most famous figures imprisoned in the tower were the anarchist Giovanni Passannante, who was imprisoned in 1886 for his failed assassination attempt of King Umberto I, and the anti-fascist Sandro Pertini, who was briefly imprisoned in 1933 while awaiting trial for insulting a prison guard.
