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Internal view of the Maximilian Tower of Sant'Erasmo - (Marco Trevisan, Venipedia / Bazzmann)

An unusual 19th century fortification whose architecture is anomalous compared to other military forts erected by the French and Austro-Hungarian administrations.
On the south-western tip of the island of S. Erasmo, opposite the Lido harbour, is the only remaining example of a Maximilian tower in Italy.

After the fall of the Serenissima in 1797, the militarization of the Venetian lagoon began by the French and Austro-Hungarian governments which established the Maritime Stronghold in Forti Staccati; this involved the construction of military headquarters and barracks located in every suppressed convent of the city and in almost all the islands of the lagoon.

The Maximilian Tower was built by the Austrians between 1843 and 1844, who militarily and politically occupied the Lombardy-Veneto region; it was built over the remains of a previous fort built by the French during the Napol

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