Tancas Abertas

The tower-prison complex developed through interventions initiated between the 15th and 16th centuries and concluded in the early years of the 19th century.

After the Aragonese conquest, the territory of Thiesi, part of the Marquisate of Montemaggiore, was granted to the Manca brothers, who built a tower to defend the eastern side of the town and its only access, a steep staircase coming from the church of San Giovanni.

In the 17th century, with new urbanistic conceptions, the tower lost its defensive function and was probably transformed into a prison. The current structure dates back to this period, with the addition of previous environments, including a room with a barrel vault for the jailers.

In the first decades of the 19th century, the Sabauda State established in Thiesi the Mandamental Court with attached zonal prison, making further modifications to adapt it to a maximum security prison.