Civic Tower (Pavia)

45°11′06″N 9°09′10″E

Civic Tower at Pavia cathedral (at left) before its collapse

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 72 metres (236 feet) 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 8:55 a.m., the Civic Tower collapsed, leaving 8,000 cubic metres (280,000 cubic feet) 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.^[2]

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]

• 
  Remains of the tower (between the statue base and the corner of the Pavia Cathedral).
• 
  Close-up of remains with a plaque showing its original form

References

1. "Torre Civica (resti)" (in Italian). Lombardia Beni Culturali. Archived from the original on 20 November 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
2. Arecchi, Alberto (29 January 2002). "La Torre Civica" (in Italian). Miapavia. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
3. Bonerandi, Enrico (18 March 1989). "Un Boato E L' Antica Torre Si Sbriciola". La Repubblica (in Italian).
4. Montanari, Laura (22 March 1989). "Ma Pavia Ha Ancora Paura". La Repubblica (in Italian).
5. Hofman, Paul (1989-07-30). "Italy's Endangered Treasures". The New York Times. New York. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
6. Montalbo, William D (1989-03-18). "900-Year-Old Bell Tower Collapses in Italy; Three Killed". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
7. "Tipping the Balance". Time. 25 June 2001. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007.
8. "BBC on this day: 1990: Leaning Tower of Pisa closed to public". BBC News. Retrieved 29 April 2020.

External links

• Blog with photograph of the structure before its collapse