TORRACCIA is what is left of the watchtower that, at the time of its construction, was located at the mouth of the Candiano port, south of Ravenna and right next to Lido di Dante.

The port was built in medieval times at the outlet of the Candiano stream, which connected the sea to the nearby Candiana valley (later named Standiana), a large wetland next to the pine forest of Classe.

The construction of the tower in the Candiano port, called Turaza, was ordered by Cardinal Paolo Savelli in 1667. The tower hosted a garrison that monitored the coast, preventing unwanted landings and signalling suspicious or enemy ships to the coastal defense system. The tower was also the place where the ship’s crews underwent their health checks, and for this reason it was also called Torre della sanità (health tower).

Torraccia is today an important evidence of the variation of Ravenna’s coastline, along with the other observation buildings that make up the cultural heritage of the city – Mausoleum of Theodoric, which originally housed a lighthouse on the dome, and the present Marina di Ravenna lighthouse, respectively located and at the head at the outlet of the Candiano Canal.