Torretta delle Streghe

On the ridge between Varigotti and Noli stands the Torretta delle Streghe, a sixteenth-century watchtower overlooking the Ligurian coast. The Comune di Noli places it on the old border with the Marchesato del Finale and preserves a local account of the tower’s defensive purpose and its name.

Why it matters

The tower recalls the political boundary between Noli and the lands of the Marchesato del Finale. Noli’s municipal guide describes it as one of the lookout towers defending the town at that border. The same guide, recounting a story from Bernardo Gandoglia’s history of Noli, says the tower was built around the middle of the sixteenth century to guard against attacks from the marquisate. It also relates that “Streghe” and the dialect term “Basure” referred to women of Varigotti, toward whom the tower was supposedly directed. The account is explicitly presented as a legend, not a settled explanation of the name.

What to notice

The modest tower stands above the coast along the Sentiero del Pellegrino. From this ridge the route connects Noli’s hillside churches with San Lorenzo di Varigotti and Punta Crena; the tower is one of the landmarks in that sequence. The path also crosses a landscape shaped by olive terraces and the characteristic vegetation of Capo Noli.

Context and history

The Comune di Noli’s guide places construction around the middle of the sixteenth century and describes the tower as a defensive lookout at the border with the Marchesato del Finale. It recounts Gandoglia’s story of an incursion from Varigotti during construction, when Noli’s workers were captured. The guide presents both this episode and the connection between the tower’s name and Varigotti’s women as part of the local legend. The official tourism description likewise identifies the tower as a sixteenth-century landmark on the Sentiero del Pellegrino.