Civic Tower (Pavia) Explained

The Civic Tower (Italian: Torre Civica) was a tower built in the Italian city of Pavia in the 11th century, next to Pavia Cathedral. Built to a rectangular base, it was 72m (236feet) high.^[1]

Description

Between 1583 and 1585, the architect Pellegrino Tibaldi led works to add a room at the top of the tower to house the cathedral's bells, which it did until it was moved to a campanile of the cathedral.^[2]

The collapse

On 17 March 1989, at 8:55a.m., the Civic Tower collapsed, leaving 8000m² of brick, sand and granite rubble.^[3] The collapse killed four people and injured fifteen.^{[4] [5] [6]} It has not been rebuilt, though some elements from it are now on display at the city's Castello Visconteo.

After the tower's collapse, the Italian government closed the Leaning Tower of Pisa on 7 January 1990 over concerns that the popular tourist site might also be at risk of collapse.^{[7] [8]}

External links

• Blog with photograph of the structure before its collapse

Notes and References

1. Web site: Torre Civica (resti) . Lombardia Beni Culturali . Italian . 4 April 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131120071248/http://www.lombardiabeniculturali.it/architetture/schede/1A050-00606 . 20 November 2013 . dead.
2. Web site: Arecchi . Alberto . La Torre Civica . Miapavia . 29 January 2002 . Italian . 5 April 2011 . 9 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160309075427/http://miapavia.com/articolo.cfm?id=572 . dead .
3. News: Bonerandi . Enrico . Un Boato E L' Antica Torre Si Sbriciola . La Repubblica . 18 March 1989 . Italian.
4. News: Montanari . Laura . Ma Pavia Ha Ancora Paura . La Repubblica . 22 March 1989 . Italian.
5. News: Hofman . Paul . 1989-07-30 . Italy's Endangered Treasures . . New York . 2020-04-29.
6. News: Montalbo . William D . 1989-03-18 . 900-Year-Old Bell Tower Collapses in Italy; Three Killed . . Los Angeles . 2020-04-29.
7. Tipping the Balance . https://web.archive.org/web/20071012203444/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1000167-1,00.html . dead . October 12, 2007 . . 25 June 2001.
8. News: BBC on this day: 1990: Leaning Tower of Pisa closed to public . BBC News . 29 April 2020.