Ghilarza, Tower

Ghilarza insists on an area rich in archaeological documentation, especially starting from the Nuragic era. The Aragonese tower overlooks a green space on the edge of the town, not far from the church of San Palmerio and that of San Giorgio, mentioned in the “Condaghe di Santa Maria di Bonarcado” (12th-13th century) as a place where “corona” (audience) was held to settle local disputes.
The Ghilarza tower is a robust structure, which stands out for the power of its walls and fully evokes the charm connected to the military climate that the modern imagination assigns to the Middle Ages. The period of its construction probably dates back to the 16th century. In the 19th century, it underwent structural adaptations, to be used as a mandatory prison.
The square plan has 17 m on the side. The massive structure is set on a large shoe-like plinth that runs along the entire perimeter. The walls are made of vulcanite blocks that have just been drafted and tied with mortar, while the corners are made of large blocks, squared and positioned with perfect alignment, such that no binder is required. The strength of the building is linked to its military function, which required the need to dominate the surrounding area and to operate from the tower in all directions.
In the S/E prospectus, the rounded rounded portal opens with a rib hanging on non-monolithic jambs. The current entrance is the result of an eighteenth-century modification, which reduced its light when the tower was transformed into a prison. The windows are of different types, lobed in the N/E and S/E elevations and arched in the S/E and S/O elevations. The O portal is
particularly curious, not so much because of its shape characterized by a round curtain, but because of the hinges fixed below the threshold. A drawbridge was linked to them, perfectly consistent with its defensive origin. The powerful armored door with latches, locks and loops, visible in the main façade, dates back to the 19th century.

History of studies
The tower was studied by Foiso Fois who contextualized it in the context of the military architecture of medieval Sardinia. Francesca Segni Pulvirenti and Aldo Sari are responsible for a card that attests to their type at the time of transition from the late Gothic to the Renaissance.

Bibliography
F. Fois, Castles of Medieval Sardinia, Milan, Amilcare Pizzi, 1992, pp. 163-166;
F. Segni Pulvirenti - A. Sari, Late Gothic and Renaissance Architecture. Nuoro, Ilisso, 1994, sheet 17.