San Marino · 11th century
The Three Towers of San Marino are a group of towers located in San Marino. Located on the three peaks of Monte Titano in the capital, also called San Marino, they are depicted on both the national flag and coat of arms.
The Guaita is the oldest of the three towers. It was constructed in the 11th century and served briefly as a prison. It was rebuilt numerous times and reached its current form in the 15th century during the war between San Marino and the House of Malatesta.
The Cesta is located on the highest of Monte Titano's summits. It contains a museum to honour Saint Marinus, which was created in 1956 and showcases over 1,550 weapons dating from the Medieval Era to the modern day. It was constructed in the 13th century on the remains of an older Roman fort.
The Montale is located on the smallest of Monte Titano's summits. Unlike the other towers, it is not open to the public. It was constructed in the 14th century. It is thought to have been constructed to give protection against the increasing power of the Malatesta family in that region. It was also used as a prison, and accordingly, the only entrance to the tower is a door about seven metres from ground level, which was common for prison architecture of the time.
Text adapted from “Three Towers of San Marino” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Three Towers of San Marino ranks #764 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #1 of the 2 mapped in San Marino. Founded c. 1050, it is older than 89% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 436 atlas entries founded in the 11th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 4,200 times in the last 60 days, more than 84% of the atlas. 3 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Florence, 98 km away. See how San Marino compares in the castle statistics.
View on the interactive castle map →