The protected marine area of Torre del Cerano is comprised of a strip of sea in the Adriatic coast of Teramo, which extends for about three miles offshore and seven kilometers along the corresponding sandy coast, between Silvi and Pineto (Teramo). The Torre di Cerrano (Tower of Cerrano) stands tall in this important natural environment, immersed in a verdant pine forest and directly facing the sea. 

Existing documentation suggests that the area in which the tower was built is the same area where the port of the ancient Roman colony of Hatria served as a stopover for ships filled with cereal grains from Puglia and Sicily. The construction of the garrison dates to the sixteenth century. It can be traced back to when the Spanish viceroys of the Kingdom of Naples, Alvares di Toledo and Parafan de Ribeira, ordered the reinforcement of defenses to repel the frequent maritime attacks by the Turks and Saracens. 

The upper square turret at the original center of the complex was added at the beginning of the early twentieth century, and is crowned with battlements. It consists of a truncated pyramid tower with a square base and a protruding structure supported by massive corbels that end in crenellations. Today the fort is fully restored and is the headquarters of the Centro di Biologia Marina (the Center of Marine Biology).