Tower of the Saracens

A Roman tomb misidentified for centuries as a medieval coastal tower.

Standing alongside the old SS 453 road south toward Albenga, the so-called Tower of the Saracens is a cylindrical brick structure about 5 metres high. For centuries it was assumed to be a medieval watchtower built against Saracen raiders along the Roman Via Iulia Augusta.

Excavations have established that the building is in fact a Roman tomb monument from the early imperial period, originally faced in marble. The site is unfenced and free to visit at any time — a five-minute detour off the main road. Worth a glance for the story alone.

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A story
The cylindrical brick tower beside the old national highway to Albenga is locally called the *Torre dei Saraceni* and traditionally identified as a 9th- or 10th-century coastal lookout. Modern archaeology has shown it is actually a Roman-era circular tomb from the 1st or 2nd century AD — a thousand years older than the legend.

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