They arrived at the sunset. After that they over took Punta Imperatore in broad daylight, they arrived at the bay of Citara on board their galleys and surprised the local population, busy lighting fires on the beach.
They didn’t have mercy on anyone, attacked houses and kidnapped youngs, both males and females, in order to sell them as slaves in the Turkish ports of the Mediterranean Sea. They were pirates, captained by the terrible Draghut who because of their incursions, since long time scared people of the West side of the island. People could not find refuge inside the Castle because of it was too distant from the built up area.
It was 1544, when the pirate incursions changed forever the aspect of the territory. In fact Forio learned to take care on their defense so that nowadays it’s nicknamed the Saracen town, but also for its narrow alleys and the red-blooded persons.
Forio derives its name from the flowery streets and the expression “fuor io” (in English “come out!”) pronounced by the inhabitants of the Castle to signal their desire to establish outside the perimeter fence. Dr. Giulio Iasolino consideres its name like the result of a renaissance, a re-flowering after that Castles and Villas collapse. Forio is the biggest municipality of the island with 12 towers, artilleries, many valiant people and rich in wine and fruits. All this refers to the way Forio ‘flowered’ thanks to its defensive system, very well visible from the sea landing in the port near the San Gaetano church and the Torrione.
Very important churches and towers, but the main Forio’s characteristics are the towers.
They have different sizes and shapes, date back to the XV and XVI cent., when people tired of the continuous raids of Saracen’s pirates, decided to build independent defensive system based on lookout towers where people could find also refuge. A tower system close to small streets and paths, is called Saracen alleys. They were so narrow that pirates couldn’t go across and reach the built up area.
A labyrinth of streets across the built up area linked the towers and allowed people to shield themselves from pirates attacks pouring boiling oil and rosin from windows and terraces. After the ‘Pirate Time’ the towers had different destinations: Torrione belongs to the City Hall of Forio and nowadays is a museum, the other towers belong to private citizens. Some towers have become residences having lost their original structure.
Thanks to the new event promoted by Superintendence and Regional Direction of Cultural Heritage and the municipality of Forio.
