Cippico Tower

The Cippico Tower, locally known as Kula Cippico, lies in the town of Kaštel Novi, in the county of Split-Dalmatia in Croatia.

After Bosnia fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1463, Dalmatia, which was part of the Venetian Republic, faced the threat of Ottoman invasions. Local landowners, the Split Archbishopric, monasteries, and nobles from Trogir and Split, therefore, wanted to protect their estates and the villagers who worked for them. Over the following decades, they began building 17 fortifications and fortifying 12 villages along the coast of Kaštela Bay, between Trogir and Split.

The Cippico Tower was one of these fortifications. It was built by Pavao Antun Cippico (Cipiku) from Split after he obtained permission from the Venetian authorities in 1512.

Originally, the tower was located on a sea rock, 100 meters from the shore. It was a freestanding tower topped with machicolations. It had two entrances: a sea gate on the south side and a land gate on the north side. The land gate was accessed via a stone bridge from the fortified village on the mainland, along with a drawbridge.

By 1517, the village had been looted by Ottoman troops, but they were unable to capture the tower. At some point during the following centuries, the water between the tower and the shore was filled in, and the machicolations disappeared as the tower lost its defensive purpose.

In the 19th century, it became the property of the Katalinić family. They built a warehouse against the east side of the tower for wine storage.

Today, the Cippico Tower appears to be private property and is not open to visitors.

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