The Minerva Tower is placed on the Punta Campanella chalky promontory, which is the last offshoot of the Sorrentine Peninsula and theatre of suggestive archaeological and mythological memories. The strategic position, which marks a watershed between the northern and southern coasts – the Neapolitan and Salerno gulfs – the proximity to the Capri island, contributed, throughout the centuries, to the settlement of important architectures, such as the sanctuary dedicated to Athena and a roman domus, which makes the area a complex and rich palimpsest of material stratifications. The Minerva Tower – that nowadays is the main landmark of the promontory – was built in 1334 in relation to the site of the ancient temple of Athena. After ten years from the construction it was already restored, but the complete transformation of the architecture took place in 1566, as a consequence of the strengthening plan of the southern coasts against the Saracen attacks, which was planned by the Spanish viceroy don Pedro de Toledo. The tower had a square plan – because of the needs of the artillery – and was made up of calcareous stones. It had three floors, four embrasures and in the viceroyal plan represented an important strongpoint, which had to acted as a block. The viceroyal settlement was transformed throughout the further centuries by keeping, nevertheless, the continuity of the use like a fortress. The paper will deepen the knowledge of the tower – which is interpreted as a complex system of centuries-old stratifications and in its relations to the uses of the landscape through the centuries. Starting from the analysis of the transformations during the viceroyal period, the following changes – compared to the settlement of the XVI century – and the hidden traces of that period which are preserved until today will be highlighted.

Transformations and Permanences of landscape and architecture: the Minerva Tower of Punta Campanella in the Sorrento-Amalfi Peninsula / Pollone, Stefania; Romano, Lia. - II:(2015), pp. 273-280. (Intervento presentato al convegno Defensive architectures of the Mediterranean XV to XVIII Centuries tenutosi a Valencia nel 15-17 ottobre 2015).

Transformations and Permanences of landscape and architecture: the Minerva Tower of Punta Campanella in the Sorrento-Amalfi Peninsula

Stefania Pollone;Lia Romano
2015

Abstract

The Minerva Tower is placed on the Punta Campanella chalky promontory, which is the last offshoot of the Sorrentine Peninsula and theatre of suggestive archaeological and mythological memories. The strategic position, which marks a watershed between the northern and southern coasts – the Neapolitan and Salerno gulfs – the proximity to the Capri island, contributed, throughout the centuries, to the settlement of important architectures, such as the sanctuary dedicated to Athena and a roman domus, which makes the area a complex and rich palimpsest of material stratifications. The Minerva Tower – that nowadays is the main landmark of the promontory – was built in 1334 in relation to the site of the ancient temple of Athena. After ten years from the construction it was already restored, but the complete transformation of the architecture took place in 1566, as a consequence of the strengthening plan of the southern coasts against the Saracen attacks, which was planned by the Spanish viceroy don Pedro de Toledo. The tower had a square plan – because of the needs of the artillery – and was made up of calcareous stones. It had three floors, four embrasures and in the viceroyal plan represented an important strongpoint, which had to acted as a block. The viceroyal settlement was transformed throughout the further centuries by keeping, nevertheless, the continuity of the use like a fortress. The paper will deepen the knowledge of the tower – which is interpreted as a complex system of centuries-old stratifications and in its relations to the uses of the landscape through the centuries. Starting from the analysis of the transformations during the viceroyal period, the following changes – compared to the settlement of the XVI century – and the hidden traces of that period which are preserved until today will be highlighted.
2015
978-84-9048-377-0
Transformations and Permanences of landscape and architecture: the Minerva Tower of Punta Campanella in the Sorrento-Amalfi Peninsula / Pollone, Stefania; Romano, Lia. - II:(2015), pp. 273-280. (Intervento presentato al convegno Defensive architectures of the Mediterranean XV to XVIII Centuries tenutosi a Valencia nel 15-17 ottobre 2015).
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11588/755735
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