Torri Montanare

Two brick towers and a stretch of wall mark an entrance to Lanciano's historic centre and survive as a prominent part of the medieval defences.

Why it matters

The Torri Montanare complex includes a tall rectangular watchtower, a lower fifteenth-century tower and connecting curtain walls. The name refers to the mountains watched from this side of Lanciano. The complex forms part of the medieval defences associated with the Civitanova quarter.

What to notice

The taller tower is rectangular, closed on three sides and open toward the town, with brick merlons at its crown; wooden walkways and stairs once connected sentries with the arrow slits. The lower fifteenth-century tower has a projecting corbelled cornice. Along Via Silvio Spaventa, the wall has a scarped base and masonry from different building phases. Nineteenth-century accounts, including Edward Lear's, describe a ditch in front of the towered walls.

Context and history

The complex formed part of the defences of Civitanova, which developed after the Norman conquest of 1060. Sources date the towers' first construction between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries; the walls were repeatedly altered, with significant fifteenth-century work under the Aragonese. Two gates, dedicated to Santa Maria Nuova and Santa Chiara, once stood here; both were demolished in the early nineteenth century. After losing their military purpose, the towers were used for other civic functions, including as a prison. The adjacent wall and later superstructures survive along Via del Torrione.