The Tower of the Bourbons
on the Ponza Island

The following year began the re-fortification of the tower and the restoration of the village. In 1485, the Gaetani besieged the Ponza Tower and after a brief fight took possession of the garrison. But soon after, Carafa claimed from King Charles VIII have had the right to own the Ponza Tower, and he came back into possession of it and keept it until March 21st, 1524, the date on which the Viceroy of Naples, on the Pope's orders, returned the possession of the county to the Papal State. In 1532, the pirate Barbarossa from Turkey, after having conquered the Ponza Tower, invaded the Pontine islands by lighting them on fire. In 1542, the Ponza Tower and the Pontine Islands were ceded in perpetual lease to the Duke of Castro Pier Luigi Farnese. Because Ponza Island was still deprived of adequate militias, in 1543 the Algerian pirates assaulted it repeatedly until they managed to land and kill the soldiers and all the inhabitants.
On June 1st, 1543 the 'Commendatory' of Gaeta, under the auspices of the Viceroy of Naples and the Pope, officially took possession of the Ponza Tower and restored it, so that the terror of the pirates was removed since during the pirates’ 1543 incursion, they had almost reached the gates of Rome. The Ponza Tower was consolidated, becoming the garrison to protect access to the islands; yet, the territories remained uninhabited due to the fear of the population towards the continuous pirate raids. From that moment on, every landing, every picking of firewood or stones, and every small settlement was strictly controlled by military stations.
With the extinction of the Farnese family, all assets as well as the Pontine Islands were inherited by the Bourbons of Naples. In 1734, Charles III of Bourbon ordered its colonization starting from the construction of a solid and effective defensive system. The Tower of Ponza was extended, strengthened and considerably elevated. Among other things, a huge cistern for the collection of rainwater was produced. Long-range naval guns were installed and an innovative “signal tree made from mirrors and flags" were installed. In practice, the whole defensive system was strategically new and carefully studied in its points. The main tower, rather than appearing as the classic tortoise shell on the outside of the body, was instead, placed at the center of the eight defense points.

Once again, the panoptic theory is practically applied by the Bourbon military genius. The Ponza Tower in the center acted as the point of arrival of communications of the peripheral positions as well as the starting point of the defense orders towards the periphery. In fact, it was possible to see all the points of defense of the island even if they were located on the other side. This complex system was at the same time practical and effective as it virtually fioled any attempt by pirates to assault the island.
In 1857, Carlo Pisacane, after having cleverly taken hostage some service officers at the port by a stratagem, he ordered them to open the doors of the Ponza Tower. However, he was disappointed because there weren’t either armaments or traditional defensive systems, only equipment for sighting and signaling! The Tower had masterfully concealed even after its conquest, the real and important function in the complex defensive system of the island since the assailants underestimated it so much that from it they left undisturbed information and orders to the other locations allowing the military to organize a defensive line on the rest of the island and send informants to Gaeta. The time of Pisacane ended, and fearing new similar tragedies for the small island community, the Royal Bourbon Government had a telegraph installed at the Ponza Tower, whose cable was laid up to the fortress of Gaeta for over 30 miles of sea, which was a real record for that time.
After the Italian Unification, the Ponza Tower fell into a total state of abandonment, and with it the rest of the coastal outposts too. At the beginning of the century it became a municipal seat, therefore, it was restored and partly enlarged for the construction of new rooms. Immediately after the war the town hall was moved again and the Ponza Tower this time was used as a school building, but after a few years it was crumbling again due to lack of maintenance, and was again abandoned to its typical fate. In 1950 it was bought by the current owners who assigned it for tourism and cultural purposes. In 1995, the Ponza Tower (The Tower of the Bourbons) was restored thanks to Maria del Pilar Oliviè’s initiative.