Torrione

The Torrione is an ancient brick watchtower, with a square plan, located on the highest point of the ancient village. Built during the century. XII or XIII, initially it did not have the Palazzo Ducale next to it. It is likely that it was built on a pre-existing defensive structure, as the base also seems to suggest, on which stones and salvaged materials can be seen, especially on the north side.

It is believed that originally the tower was taller and that it culminated in an observation deck with battlements, and not with a roof, as seen today. In fact, in medieval times, towers like this were very high to ensure a good defensive capacity during sieges, since the infantrymen perched on the upper floors enjoyed good coverage from the arrows shot by the attackers and could effectively respond to the attack in safety. Some loopholes that served this purpose are still visible. Furthermore, in order to be conquered, the towers required the use of very complex siege machines, only within the reach of large armies.

In the modern era, especially from the sec. XVI, the towers like that of Controguerra were lowered and reinforced at the base - usually with imposing masonry plinths - to make them more resistant to the blows of the artillery, which in those years made its appearance on the European battlefields. The Torrione appears today in this guise, with evident signs of restoration from the modern era.

On the masonry the openings for the doves are visible, which represented a fundamental means of communication in past centuries.

The Counterguerresi call the building lu Tərrəpò and perhaps the dialectal term originates from a contraction of Torre di Ponente. There are several theories on the location of a tower "to the east"; for Panichi it could have been the town of Torri a Tronto, while for Sagona it could have been an outpost in the area of ​​today's San Rocco (area of ​​the Benedictine monastery of San Benedetto al Trivio).

The Torrione had great strategic importance especially in the Middle Ages and in the wars of the modern era, but it continued to perform a military function until the Unification of Italy, as in the Bourbon era it was used as a lookout point by the customs guards for the fight against smuggling.

At the end of the Second World War, soldiers of the reconstituted Italian army of the Southern Kingdom stayed in the tower and after the conflict some counter-war families found temporary accommodation. In the second half of the 20th century, the tower and the Acquavivia palace were purchased by Vincenzo Crescenzi.

The historical importance of the complex is remarkable, so much so that, in 1916, it was included in the List of Monumental buildings in Italy, edited by the Ministry of Education.