Transformations and Permanences of landscape and architecture: the Minerva Tower of Punta Campanella in the Sorrento-Amalfi Peninsula

Abstract

[EN] The Minerva Tower is placed on the Punta Campanella promontory, which is the last offshoot of the Sorrentine Peninsula and seat of suggestive archaeological and mythological memories. The strategic position contributed, over the centuries, to the settlement of important architectures, such as the sanctuary dedicated to Athena and a Roman domus, which makes the area a complex and rich palimpsest of material stratifications. The Minerva Tower – that nowadays is the main landmark of the promontory – was built in 1334 in relation to the site of the temple of Athena but was completely transformed in 1566, as a consequence of the strengthening plan of the southern coasts which was planned by the Spanish viceroy Pedro Afán de Ribera Duke of Alcalà. The paper deepens the knowledge of the tower by analyzing the transformations during the viceroyal period and highlighting the changes and the hidden ancient traces which are preserved until today.