The tower sits at an elevation of 52 metres (171 ft) on the Île de Pinarellu.

It was one of a series of coastal defences constructed by the Republic of Genoa between 1530 and 1620 to stem the attacks by Barbary pirates.

Genoese documents refer to the Île de Pinarellu as the Isola dei Corsi or the Island of the Corsaires.

[1][2] The design of the Tower of Pinareddu is unusual in that the plan is square rather than round.

[3][4] Since 1981 the Tower of Pinareddu has been owned and maintained by the French government agency, the Conservatoire du littoral.