The tower is located on the Talamonaccio hill at the borders with the Park and, with the Rocca ( Stronghold), is part of Talamone defensive system. On the oldest cartography, starting with the Malavolti map ( 1) it appears along with another tower called at first Martha ( Marta) and later Old Talamone ( Talamone Vecchio) or Ancient Tower ( torre Antica).
The repetition of this presence in the cartography ( 2), even if with various approximations, is the only sign of the existence of this tower, as old documents regarding the construction of this building have not been found.
The first documentation comes from the State Archives in Naples ( Archivio di Stato di Napoli) through a note (3), about the two towers, written by the Regia Camera della Sommaria, between 1570 and 1580. It is very difficult to know if the reference is to the two towers on the Talamone hill or Talamone Stronghold and Talamonaccio Tower; it seems improbable that the writer was referring to Talamonaccio tower and Ancient tower. One can only suppose that the last one was built by the Sienese and later reduced to such bad conditions to need the construction of the current Talamonaccio Tower. This tower, like all the previous ones, has the typical typology of the sixteen century, by being square shaped with rectangular foundations surmounted by a ridge. On the covering terrace there were loopholes used for the artillery mouths facing the sea, and a small building, which was used to protect the ladder: this was the sign that there had never been a roof-covering. The entrance, as usual, was overlooking the hinterland. Two 1739 reports refer to this tower; they were written by Don Carlos Blom the year after the Garrison State ( Stato dei Presidi) was annexed to the Kingdom of the Bourbons ( Regno dei Borboni). The first report describes the tower as a very important building and therefore worth restoring and providing with men and artillery (4). In the second report it is specified the importance of repairing it and of providing it with two pieces of artillery as it controls the access to the port which therefore favoured the shipment of sulphur and coal and the defence against Turkish attacks (5).
After the annexation to the Kingdom of Etruria ( Regno dell’Etruria), this tower and many others were subjected to changes; an 1806 document refers to additions which had to be made to give hospitality to an expert of ship landing. Here the ships in fact used to go to the Saline Tower in order to load sulphur and coal.
It was necessary to add two rooms and, as the beach below was of easy reach and landing, a new accommodation for two light cavalrymen in charge of the surveillance of this area, and a stable for horses, were also created (6).
This new complex of services was built next to the tower in a rectangular shaped building which still stands up, and which used to be always located inside the defensive walls. The entrance is in the turret mast, the door is framed and ornated with armorial bearings; above it there were two loopholes and, on the other sides, rectangular shaped windows. The defensive walls next to the entrance follow the slope on which part of the tower is located, whilst on the opposite side the building is characterised by crenellation.
The writer Caciagli underlines the strategic importance of this location (7), while Camarosano and Passeri focus more on the architectonic elements (8). The map of this tower in Leopold’s land Register is unfortunately damaged, but in the indicative tables it is under the section Orbetello at the heading 286 as the property of the Imperial and Royal Fabbriche ( Imperiali and Regie Fabbriche); (9) in 1870 it became the property of Gio Battista Vicarelli, later of Raffaello and in 1886 of Giuseppe and Italo.
On the 30th of December 1888 the tower went back to being the property of the State ( Demanio Nazionale ) and was later sold, in 1937, to Alberto and Luigi Merciai who changed it by introducing some important structural additions and changes.
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