“Turris ad nocturnum navigantibus lumen"

The Lantern’s Tower, which overlooks the Messina’s Strait, on the peninsula of San Raineri, is one of the Mediterranean’s most ancient fortifications. The Tower was designed by Giovannangelo Montorsoli, Florentine friar, architect, sculptor and restorer who collaborated with Michelangelo during the construction of the Sagrestia Nuova in Florence. The survey underlines the relation between the shape of the Tower and the complex and changeable landscape of the Strait. The tower, in fact, had always had a double function: on one side protection against the attack of enemies, and on the other a lighthouse useful for give ad Nocturnum Navigantibus Lumen. The integrate survey, furthermore, gives the opportunity to verify some hypothesis related to the presence of some clue about the precedent ancient medieval Tower. The digital reconstruction made with three-dimensional modeling, allows us to underline the heavy structure of the walls, the quality of the external decorations and permits us to virtually reconstruct the ancient medieval building, partially embedded and partially changed by the new project of Montorsoli.