The Torre della Peschiera di Nassa is a coastal tower located in the municipality of Monte Argentario, along the northern coast of the Argentario promontory, not far from the port of Santa Liberata and the Tower of Santa Liberata.
The coastal tower was built in medieval times with defensive functions and sighting on the access channel to the Orbetello Lagoon and on the nearby Tombolo della Giannella. Its construction dates back almost certainly to the period when the Aldobrandeschi controlled the centers of Porto Ercole and Talamone, and more generally the whole area around the Argentario promontory.
During the fifteenth century the defensive structure was rehabilitated by the Sienese, to improve the coastal defensive system of the area that, at that time, also saw the construction of other towers.
After an assault successfully carried out by French troops in 1552, the tower became part of the territory of the State of the Presidios, becoming one of the strategic points for the Argentario defensive system.
During the siege of Orbetello in 1646, the fortification was the scene of a battle between French and Spanish soldiers.
In later times, the tower continued to perform its defensive functions, which were considerably strengthened at the beginning of the nineteenth century during the Napoleonic period; in 1802 the chapel of the Madonna di Loreto was also built there. However, its definitive decommissioning at the end of the nineteenth century involved an inexorable period of abandonment which later determined the collapse of the upper part of the building.
The Torre della Peschiera di Nassa, so named for the presence of the nearby fishpond, is located in a raised position near the road that runs along the northern coast of the Argentario promontory, not far from the Tower of Santa Liberata, the port-canal and the the extreme southern strip of the Tombolo della Giannella.
Of the ancient tower is preserved only the imposing base with a square section delimited at the top by the crease that constitutes the summit of the ruin, whose thick walls covered in stone give the idea of how imposing the original turriform structure was before the collapse determines the loss of the upper part.
Originally, the structure was developed on three levels, culminating with a summit crenellation that bordered the terrace from which the sentinels carried out the sighting functions both towards the open sea and towards the lagoon.
