The Genoese built the tower in 1348 at the highest point of their colony's walls in Galata, in the Romanesque style. The colony was established in 1267, and an earlier tower had been destroyed by Crusaders in 1204. After the Ottoman conquest in 1453 the colony was abolished, and the tower became a prison. The Ottomans used it to watch for fires from 1717.
The stone masonry tower is 205 feet (62.59 m) high, with a base diameter of 54 feet (16.45 m) and walls 12.3 feet (3.75 m) thick. Photographs show a conical roof in 1854 that was gone by 1862, and sources differ on the cause. The roof was rebuilt in the restoration of 1965 to 1967.
Fires damaged the tower in 1794 and 1831. It reopened as a museum after a restoration in 2020. It reopened to visitors on May 25, 2024, with entry capped at 100 visitors per hour.
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