Guaita Tower

Guaita is the first and largest of the three towers on the Monte Titano ridge, built in the eleventh century on the rock at the northern end with two enclosing walls, a keep and a small chapel inside, and it served as a prison into the twentieth century. It appears on the republic's coat of arms with the other two. The drop from its walls to the plain below is several hundred metres.

What you actually see

• The eleventh-century keep - the oldest of the three towers.
• The double walls - the two enclosures around the tower.
• The chapel - the small church of Santa Barbara inside the walls.
• The drop - several hundred metres straight down from the ramparts.

When to go

April to October is the mild season. It keeps set hours and closes on some days. Summer weekends bring crowds.

Honest expectations

It gets very crowded in high season and the interior spaces are small. Much of what stands is nineteenth and twentieth-century restoration. The ticket is combined with Cesta.

Nearby

Cesta is along the ridge, and the city centre is below.