Ascea, acts of vandalism against the “Telegraph Tower”

In recent days the “Telegraph Tower”, erected at the top of the Ascea cliff, has suffered a very serious act of vandalism.

The base of the wall on the north side, on the Marina side, has been defaced by unknown persons with an abnormal coloured graffiti, presumably done with spray paint cans.

The property, once in ruins and abandoned and now defaced with impunity, has inestimable artistic, historical, archaeological, ethno-anthropological and landscape value, representing an identity symbol for the community of Ascea and Cilento, being, moreover, an integral part of the "skyline", rising to an element of strong tourist attraction.

The building, subjected to incessant and worrying erosion, has undergone major collapse phenomena, visible above all from the Pisciotta-Palinuro side, preserving, as it stands, the foundations, portions of walls and a “pendentive” wall on the Marina side, being exposed to the concrete danger of collapse.

The Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park Authority owns the building and the large surrounding plot of land, on which it created the “lovers' path”, integrated with raised wooden platforms and walkways functional to the use of the area, subsequently granted on free loan to the municipality of Ascea, upon request made by the mayor of pt, with note prot. n. 2020 of 23.2.2021.

The structures, once built by the park authority, now entrusted to the custody and maintenance of the municipality of Ascea, with an agreement signed on 6.6.2022, are in a state of absolute neglect and abandonment, with completely disconnected and partially torn off platform and handrail boards, as well as protruding rusty nails, constituting a serious danger for visitors.

The same dirt path has, in several places, bumps and holes, as well as a slippery surface, constituting a danger for users.

The municipal councilors of the “Ascea in testa” group, with notes dated 24.6.2024 and 17.7.2024, had already reported the situation of poor maintenance and danger highlighted above to the competent bodies and offices of the municipality of Ascea, as custodian and maintainer.

Unfortunately, these reports have not yet had any effect, as the structures have suffered further and serious damage, perpetrated in the total absence of any form of control.

The events that have recently occurred clearly show the impossibility of effectively guaranteeing the protection and enhancement of the property and the surrounding area through the collaboration that was started at the time between the park authority and the municipality of Ascea, given that the municipal administration has demonstrated that it is not in a position to consistently and punctually carry out the ordinary maintenance works of the path and structures, despite having assumed a formal obligation to do so, much less to set up a protection and surveillance system, such as to prevent and impede the phenomena of damage and disfigurement reported above.

For these reasons, the municipal councilors of the group "Ascea in testa", through a specific note, have requested the immediate intervention of the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park Authority, so that responsibly:

summarizes the direct management of the above-described assets, with the consequent charges and obligations, following the resolution of the agreement stipulated with the municipality of Ascea;

adopt rapid measures aimed at restoring and protecting the “Telegraph Tower”, so that it is not exposed to definitive ruin, in order to prevent its irreparable loss and preserve an identity symbol of Ascea and Cilento for the benefit of future generations;

carry out the necessary, urgent and non-deferrable maintenance works in order to immediately re-establish the essential conditions of protection of the monument and of safety and normal accessibility of the “lovers' path” by removing the situations of impediment and risk reported above;

submit a specific request to the Ministry of Culture - Regional Secretariat for Campania - Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the provinces of Salerno and Avellino, for the purpose of activating, also through "agreement", the procedure for verifying the artistic, historical, archaeological and ethno-anthropological interest of the "Telegraph Tower", with consequent subjection of the property to the protection regulations referred to in art. 12 et seq. of Legislative Decree 22.1.2004, n. 42, given its high identity value.

The note was also sent, for information, to the Ministry of Culture - General Directorate of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape - Regional Secretariat for Campania, to the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the provinces of Salerno and Avellino and to the Municipality of Ascea.