Small fort at Cretarossa, on the Circeo promontory, whose place name recalls the reddish colour typical of the clays (crete) that surface in this part of the area. The structure is part of the system of lookout and coastal defence posts built up over the centuries on the promontory, which in more recent times added fortifications of a more modern design to the network of 16th-century papal towers.
We are on the ridge of the promontory, in a privileged position for the view it offers. There are three small forts documented with certainty, also called fortilizi or fortellicia: Guardia Orlando, Cretarossa and Monticchio. Built at strategic, panoramic points, they were, as the name suggests, lookout sites rather than places of active defence. The Cretarossa fort watched for attacks from the sea to defend the fortified village. Its circular base is clearly visible today. All three forts were destroyed by the troops of Alfonso of Aragon in the mid-15th century.