Astura Tower

The Tower was erected by the sea where Astura River flows, during the XII Century.
It was built on the base on a fish-tank of a roman villa.

In the course of the years the coast had been repeatedly attacked by the Saracens, but the inhabitants holded on and populated from time to time more and more of that area.

The contact with the Saracens greatly characterized the culture of the people and after the Saracens' definite with draw, several customs and traditions had been assumed and partly kept to this very day.

About 700 years ago, the young prince Conradin of Swabia, grandson of Frederick II., landed on the shores of Nettuno in his desperate attempt to escape from his persecuer Charles of Anjou and sought asylum in the tower fortification "Torre Astura".

Although picking him up at first, the landlord Giovanni Frangipane extradited the young prince to King Charles who subsequently beheaded him publically in Naples.

Gregorovius describes the "Torre Astura" as the Tower of Romance and the seat of German poetry in Italy.