Oasis Four columns
FOUR COLUMNS OASIS
Galatena River Tower
The Torre del Fiume di Galatena is one of the numerous coastal watchtowers of Salento built by Charles V, in the sixteenth century, to defend the territory from the assaults of the Saracens. In the place where the tower is located there is a source of fresh water, also known by the pirates who often attacked the area to refuel. Charles V then decided to protect this spring by having the tower built. The tower had a truncated pyramidal structure with a square base with angular bastions with a pentagonal plan and a height of 16 meters. In the upper part there was a string course with corbels. The central part of the ancient tower probably collapsed not long after its construction, following some enemy attack or telluric phenomena. Today only the four corner bastions remain: for this reason the tower is also called "of the Four Columns".
