The lookout tower, also known as the Spanish tower, sits in the small seaside town of Isola Rossa, a hamlet of Trinità d’Agultu e Vignola. Opposite the town, about 400 metres from the coast, is a small island from where the town takes its name.
The tower was built between 1578 and 1595 to defend the coastal areas from regular invasions by Saracen pirates. It subsequently served to limit the flow of illegal immigrants between Sardinia and neighbouring Corsica.
The imposing building was constructed on a small rocky promontory offering an extensive view and control of a wide stretch of sea. Its cylindrical shape, standing on a circular base, is built entirely with red granite. Standing almost eleven metres high, its only entrance is a small room which is difficult to reach as it is located at a height of five metres.
Some important events in the history of Sardinia took place in the shade of its imposing presence. In 1672, some of those involved in the plot to kill the Viceroy of Sardinia, including the Marchese di Cea, lured there under false pretences, lost their lives. A similar fate awaited the followers of Giovanni Maria Angioy in 1802 who, for a short period of time, conquered it and unsuccessfully attempted to import the ideas and principles of the French Revolution, but they too were captured and condemned to death.
