The Tower of Nonza () is a

Genoese tower The Genoese towers in Corsica (, , singular : , also ; ) are a series of coastal defences constructed by the Republic of Genoa between 1530 and 1620 to stem the attacks by Barbary pirates. Corsica had been controlled by the Genoese since 1284 whe ...

located in the commune of

Nonza Nonza () is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France on the island of Corsica. Population See also *Communes of the Haute-Corse department The following is a list of the 236 Communes of France, communes of the Haute-Corse Dep ...

(

Haute-Corse Haute-Corse (; , or ; ) is a department of France, consisting of the northern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collectivity merged with that of Corse-du-Sud on 1 January 2018, forming the single ter ...

) on the coast of

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

. The tower sits at an elevation of in the village of Nonza on the west coast of Capicorsu. The tower was one of a series of coastal defences built by the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Maritime republics, maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italy, Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in ...

between 1530 and 1620 to stem the attacks by

Barbary pirates The Barbary corsairs, Barbary pirates, Ottoman corsairs, or naval mujahideen (in Muslim sources) were mainly Muslim corsairs and privateers who operated from the largely independent Barbary states. This area was known in Europe as the Barba ...

. The exact date of construction is not known but the tower is included in a list compiled by the Genoese authorities in 1617 where it is recorded as being guarded only at night. The tower of Nonza is famous for its siege in 1768, during the war between

Pasquale Paoli Filippo Antonio Pasquale de' Paoli (; or ; ; 6 April 1725 – 5 February 1807) was a Corsican patriot, statesman, and military leader who was at the forefront of resistance movements against the Republic of Genoa, Genoese and later Kingd ...

's independent Corsica and France. The troops protecting the village of Nonza had been taken prisoner by the French forces north of the village, but the commander of the troops remained in the tower. It is said that he managed to make the French troops believe in a fierce resistance during the siege so that they would agree to his conditions for surrender, which were to let him join the rest of Paoli's troops and grant him the military honours. When he came out of the tower alone, the French commander, stunned, asked where the troops were. He is said to have answered: "here is the commander and the troop". In 1926 the tower was listed as one of the official historical monuments of France.

See also

References

Further reading