The Carnale fort dates to 1563 and was part of a defensive system against the Saracen invasions. According to historians the name was given to the fort following a Saracen massacre that took place on the headland in 872. The presence of iron in the walls and its position has led to the belief that it was a so called ‘cavalry tower’. Horsemen living in the tower would warn the town folk of any imminent attack. Around about the 1600s Ippolito from Pastena used the tower as a base during the Spanish revolt against the French invasion.
