Minceta Tower

Minceta Tower rises from the north-west corner of the City Walls of Dubrovnik, Croatia, at the highest point of the circuit. The earliest tower on the site dates to the 14th century and took its name from the Menčetić family who owned the land. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453 the Republic of Ragusa feared Ottoman attack and engaged Michelozzo di Bartolomeo of Florence to redesign the fortification, while the Dalmatian architect Juraj Dalmatinac, builder of Šibenik Cathedral, also contributed. The tower, completed in 1464, is a round bastion crowned with a polygonal turret and machicolated parapet and a cylindrical form which deflected cannon shot better than the older square towers. The walls at the base are several metres thick and the tower dominated the approach from the land side, where the ridge of Mount Srd overlooks the city. From the platform, visitors see the red terracotta roofs of the old town, the harbour, Lokrum island and, in clear weather, the Elaphiti Islands. The tower is climbed by narrow stone stairs from the wall walkway. Damage in the 1667 earthquake was repaired by the Republic, and extensive restoration after the 1991 bombardment replaced many roof tiles and stonework in the walls. Since then, the tower has been one of the best-preserved sections of the circuit. The tower sits on the western end of the northern wall and is reached only through the City Walls route, which is about two kilometres long and one-way. Visitors usually walk anticlockwise from Pile Gate, which brings them to Minceta early in the circuit, before the steep climb to the highest point. The tower also appeared in the television series Game of Thrones, which has raised its profile among visitors.