San Giovanni Tower in Custonaci
The San Giovanni Tower, located within the Monte Cofano Reserve , is part of the coastal defense system strongly desired by Spanish kings. The coastal defense system, in Sicily, consisted of a set of towers visible to each other, in order to be able to send messages through signal fires, shooting or waving flags.
It is a military garrison built in 1595 by the Deputation of the kingdom on the recommendation of the arch. Camilliani, who identified in this stretch of coast a point that was too open and easily attacked by sea from the Turkish threat. At that time, the architects Tiburzio Spannocchi and Camillo Camilliani carried out the circumnavigation of Sicily, to verify the weak points of the coast in which to build the defense towers. Remarkable are the documents of these technicians who at that time carried out reconnaissance with special drawings and projects.
