The Old Dock and the Leon Pancaldo Tower
savona
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
The Old Dock was the city's first port and the hub of maritime life since the Middle Ages.
The Leon Pancaldo Tower, colloquially known as “la Torretta,” welcomes visitors at the entrance to the Darsena (dock). First mentioned under a different name in documents from 1392, it was originally part of the city walls and served as a gateway to the port. After the destruction of the walls by the Genoese in 1527, the tower remained standing and underwent various architectural modifications over time.
Its current name honors the Savonese navigator Leon Pancaldo, a companion on Ferdinand Magellan’s historic circumnavigation of the globe. The structure has a square plan of about six meters per side and stands over twenty meters tall. It is characterized by a scarped base and elegant battlements with three tiers of Gothic arches on three sides. The sea-facing façade features an 18th-century fresco with the coat of arms of the Republic of Genoa and a shrine housing the figure of Nostra Signora della Misericordia (Our Lady of Mercy), patroness of the city.
THIS PLACE IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE
With its strategic location along the Ligurian Sea, Savona has always played a crucial role in the maritime trade of northern Italy. Even in medieval times, the Old Dock was the only safe harbor in the area, used for trading timber, salt, and other essential goods. Not by chance, the people of Savona called it “cu de Beu,” from the French quai de bois, meaning “wood wharf”: it was here that ships from abroad docked, unloading logs destined for processing or shipbuilding.
The dock was, and still is, the beating heart of daily life, sustaining the city’s economy for centuries. Surrounding it were townhouses, warehouses, storage cellars, and small shipyards.