The Torre Saracena stands on the seafront as the town's oldest surviving structure, built in the sixteenth century to watch for raids along the Adriatic coast. It did its job — the watchtower network along this shore was the coast's early-warning system against pirates and Ottoman incursions. Today the tower houses one of the more unexpected museums on the Riviera: a private collection combining shells gathered from seas around the world with historical banknotes from dozens of countries. The combination is entirely arbitrary, which is part of its charm. The climb up the narrow staircase rewards you with a good view over the beach and the rooftops of Bellaria.