Giovanni Battista Antonelli was born in Gatteo in 1527 in a prestigious family of military engineers, including his younger brother Battista Antonelli.
Giovanni Battista designed and built some of the most important military fortifications on the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula: his most important works were a series of watchtowers along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in Spain.
In 1568, King Philip II of Spain had given to the noble Vespasian Gonzaga mandate to carry out a plan of defense for the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Previously the nobleman had been in charge for a similar works in the Kingdom of Sicily. In 1547 he took advantage of the collaboration of Antonio Ferramolino and in 1552 of Pietro del Grado, two specialized experts.
From the inspection of the landscape, Giovanni Battista planned the fortification for port town of Cartagena, for the coast of the Kingdom of Valencia and for the African harbours of Oran and Mazalquivir. Within this project of fortification of the coast of Spain and Africa, a series of towers was built along the coast of the Kingdom of Murcia and Valencia, and they started the reconstruction of the Castle of Santa Barbara overlooking Alicante (Spain) in 1562, the construction of the Benidorm Palace and the Tower of Santa Faz in Alicante in 1575 and the reservoir of Tibi in 1580. In addition, the walls were built to protect Peñíscola. From 1580 he devoted himself to the study of the navigability of the river Tagus from Lisbon to Toledo, a project that never became a reality. There is a satirical novel of Ricardo Sanchez Candelas about the project entitled: “Navigarono solo i suoi sogni” (Navigated only his dreams). Giovanni Battista died in Toledo in 1558.
The Municipality of Gatteo dedicated to this important family the municipal Cultural Center ‘The Antonelli’.
