Forte Santa Tecla is an imposing structure located on the old port of Sanremo. It was built in the years 1755-56 on the disposition of the Republic of Genoa to "keep the sanremo proper" following the popular uprising of 1753 triggered by the decision of Genoa to separate Sanremo from Colla.
The fort, with a triangular plan and bastion on the summits, is a typical example of eighteenth-century military architecture, one of the few remaining intact on the Ligurian coast. It is spread over three floors, with a firepower of 16 pieces of artillery, arranged on frontal bulwarks and another 5 smaller ones on the rear bastion. It was destined to host a military contingent formed by two companies of 40 men each.
The Forte Santa Tecla still played its role in the Napoleonic period, within the coastal defensive system when some artillery pieces were placed there. After 1815, with the annexation of Liguria to the Kingdom of Sardinia, the fort was used as a barracks, remaining however a symbol of the firmness and authority of Genoa on the Riviera di Ponente. In unitary time, in 1864, the fort was adapted to the Judicial Prison, keeping intact its original structure. Today recovered in the central part is used for events and cultural events, pending the planned overall restoration.