The towers that marked the cities of Italy: the “medieval skyline”, from Bologna to Siena

In the late Middle Ages (the period between the year 1000 and the end of the Middle Ages in the fifteenth century) in many cities of central and northern Italy, the municipalities and the lordships. Numerous towers were built in urban centers, some owned by noble families who wanted to show their power and defend themselves in any civil wars, others built by public institutions and the Church. The average height of the towers it was not highwas not comparable to that of the current skyscrapers, but the towers dominated the skyline of many urban centers making them the Manhattan of the Middle Ages. The limit case was that of Bolognain which in the late Middle Ages they arose, according to the most reliable estimates, about 100 towers24 of which are still standing today. But also in smaller towns, as in San Gimignano (Siena), the skyline was dominated by the towers.

Italian medieval towers

In central-northern Italy, municipalities and lordships were born during the late Middle Ages, that is, small independent states, in which power was administered mainly by the most visible families. Often in the cities clashes and civil wars developed, such as those between Guelfi and Ghibellini. In this context, many aristocratic families built a private tower within the cities, useful both as a defensive fortification and as a symbol of prestige: being visible from all over the city, they immediately demonstrated the wealth and influence of the owner. In addition to the private towers, in many cities they were present civic towersbuilt by public institutions, and bell towers of the churches.

For this reason, in numerous Italian medieval urban centers such as Siena, Bologna, Florence, Lucca, Pisa, San Gimignano, the skyline was dominated by the towers. Generally the buildings had the square plant And their height was not particularly high: most of the towers did not exceed 40-50 meters Height (today the highest skyscraper in the world, the Burj Khalifa, reaches 829 meters and there are dozens of buildings above 500 meters high). In addition to the real towers, there were the Houses-landlower and wider, which had above all housing function. With the passing of the centuries, most of the medieval towers have been destroyed. Some towers, however, still remain standing today: among the highest and most famous they appear Torrazzo di Cremona (i.e. the bell tower of the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta) dating back to the thirteenth century and more than 100 meters high; The Campanile of the Basilica of San Marco in Venice, built between 1150 and fifteenth centuries; there Tower of Arnolfo in Florence, built at the beginning of the 300 above Palazzo Vecchio; there Torre del Mangia In Siena, built in Piazza del Campo between 1325 and 1349. In San Gimignano, 14 of the 72 towers existing in the Middle Ages remain standing.

The towers of Bologna

Bologna was the richest city in Torri d’Italia. However, the exact number of the towers present in the city in the late Middle Ages is not known with certainty: in the past it was believed that they were 180, but later the scholars revised the amount upside down and today it is thought that they were about a hundred And that their average height was about 30 meters. Today in the city 24 medieval towers remain standing. The best known are the Two towersone of the main symbols of Bologna: that of Donkeysso called by the name of the owner family, which dates back to the beginning of the XII century and, with its 97 meters it is the highest in the city; that of the Garise (from the Garisandi family), dating back to the same period, 48 meters high. Both towers are pending.

Among the other surviving Bolognese towers, they include that of Azzoguidianother 61 meters, and that of Takepart59 meters. In Piazza Maggiore, the Clock Towerlocated above Palazzo d’Accursio, of which the tower constitutes the original nucleus, and the Torre dell’Arengolocated on the Palace of the Podestà.