Description of the attraction
Torre di San Pancrazio and Torre del Elefante are medieval towers located in the city of Cagliari in the historic quarter of Castello.
Torre San Pancrazio was built in 1305 during the reign of the city of the Pisa Republic. Her project was worked by the Sardinian architect Giovanni Capula, who was also the author of the Torre del Elefante, erected two years later, and the Torre del L'Aquila, partially destroyed in the 18th century and now built into the Palazzo Boyle. The Tower of San Pancrazio was part of an urban defense system built by the Pisans to protect Cagliari from Saracen pirate raids and rival Genoese attacks. For the construction of the tower, white limestone was brought from the neighboring hill of Colle di Bonaria. Torre di San Pancrazio itself has walls up to three meters thick and a gate, which, together with the Torre del Elefante gate, is still the main entrance to the Castello quarter. During the reign of the Aragonese dynasty, Torre di San Pancrazio was rebuilt and used as a prison. In 1906, the tower was restored.
Torre del Elefante, also erected in the 14th century to defend the city, reaches 31 meters in height. Three sides of the tower were built of white limestone from the Colle di Bonaria hill, and the fourth was open and had four floors of wooden galleries. This tower was also modified during the Aragonese dynasty and also served as a prison, and the heads of executed criminals were hung on its walls for all to see. In 1906, the Torre del Elefante was restored.
