Tower and fort of Girolata

Details of the activity

The tower is located at an altitude of 36 meters on a rocky outcrop of the Gulf of Girolata.

In the 16th century, Girolata was one of the places most exposed to Turkish descent. The site is particularly known for having been the place where the great Turkish corsair Dragute was captured with his squadron on June 15, 1540 by the Genoese admiral Giovannettino Doria.

Its isolation gave it a special importance: enemy ships could stay in this bay in peace, one of the few places capable of sheltering their galleys and other small ships from the prevailing W winds. The galleys at that time were shallow draft boats, generally hardly more than 1m, which could therefore sink into the bottom of the anchorage, sheltered from the Libeccio.

A simple Genoese tower could not be enough to protect this isolated place, so it was a real fort that was built in the middle of the 16th century (being renovated, it will soon be possible to visit it). The hamlet of Girolata, at the bottom of the gulf of the same name, is only accessible by sea, or on foot via a mule track in the maquis and the mountains. Out of season, there are no more than ten inhabitants. In summer, many tourists come to admire the site, which makes you lose this feeling of being isolated at the end of the world, but does not prevent you from being dazzled by the beauty of the place.

Source: West Corsica