The Torre delle Milizie ("Tower of the Militia") is a fortified tower in Rome, Italy, located between Trajan's Market in the

Imperial fora The Imperial Fora (''Fori Imperiali '' in Italian) are a series of monumental ''fora'' (public squares), constructed in Rome over a period of one and a half centuries, between 46 BC and 113 AD. The fora were the center of the Roman Republic and o ...

to the southwest and the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, or Angelicum, to the east.

History

It gained the popular nickname of "Nero's Tower" from a tradition that it originated as an ancient Roman construction from which Emperor Nero watched the

Great Fire of Rome The Great Fire of Rome ( la, incendium magnum Romae) occurred in July AD 64. The fire began in the merchant shops around Rome's chariot stadium, Circus Maximus, on the night of 19 July. After six days, the fire was brought under control, but before ...

– this is derived from the classical account that he watched from a tower in the

Gardens of Maecenas The Gardens of Maecenas, or ''Horti Maecenatis'', constituted the luxurious ancient Roman estate of Gaius Maecenas, an Augustan-era imperial advisor and patron of the arts. The property was among the first in Italy to emulate the style of Persian ...

, though more trustworthy accounts place him out of town, at

Antium Antium was an ancient coastal town in Latium, south of Rome. An oppidum was founded by people of Latial culture (11th century BC or the beginning of the 1st millennium BC), then it was the main stronghold of the Volsci people until it was conque ...

at the time. The actual construction of the tower probably dates to the time of Pope Innocent III (1198–1216) under the Aretino family. At the end of the 13th century, the tower was a possession of the powerful

Annibaldi The Annibaldi were a powerful baronial family of Rome and the Lazio in the Middle Ages. They began to rise to prominence in the 13th century with the favour of Popes Gregory IX and Alexander IV, in the vacuum left by the Counts of Tusculum. In th ...

family, who were followed by the

Prefetti di Vico The Prefetti di Vico were an Italian noble family, of German origin, who established themselves in Rome from the 10th century. They obtained the title of ''praefect urbis'' (prefect of the city) by the Holy Roman Emperor. The rest of the name de ...

and by the

Caetani The House of Caetani, or Gaetani, is the name of an Italian noble family, originally from the city of Gaeta, connected by some to the lineage of the lords of the Duchy of Gaeta, as well as to the patrician Gaetani of the Republic of Pisa. It play ...

Pope Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII ( la, Bonifatius PP. VIII; born Benedetto Caetani, c. 1230 – 11 October 1303) was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 to his death in 1303. The Caetani family was of baronial ...

's family. Under the Caetani the fortified quarter was enlarged and strengthened, probably rivalling with

Castel Sant'Angelo The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as Castel Sant'Angelo (; English: ''Castle of the Holy Angel''), is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleu ...

as Rome's main fortress. At the end of the 13th century when

Henry VII of Luxembourg Henry VII ( German: ''Heinrich''; c. 1273 – 24 August 1313),Kleinhenz, pg. 494 also known as Henry of Luxembourg, was Count of Luxembourg, King of Germany (or '' Rex Romanorum'') from 1308 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1312. He was the first emp ...

came to Rome for his coronation as Holy Roman Emperor (May–June 1312), he chose the Torre delle Milizie as the base for his

Ghibellines The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, r ...

supporters. Twenty years later the tower was ceded to the Conti. During their ownership, Raphael, in his role as curator of the antiquities of the city, cited the tower as an example of an edifice built reusing antique parts. The Conti held the tower until 1619, when it was acquired by the nuns of the neighboring convent (later demolished) of

Santa Caterina a Magnanapoli Santa Caterina a Magnanapoli is a baroque church dedicated to St. Catherine of Siena on Largo Magnanapoli on the slopes of the Quirinal Hill in Rome. History A group of Dominican tertiary nuns, living in a small house in via Santa Chiara where S ...

. In 1911, the tower was declared an Italian National Monument.

Architecture

One of the main medieval monuments of the city, the Torre delle Milizie is built on a square plan, its base sides measure × . The original height of the tower is uncertain, but following the

earthquake of 1348 The 1348 Friuli earthquake, centered in the South Alpine region of Friuli, was felt across Europe on 25 January. The earthquake hit in the same year that the Great Plague ravaged Italy. According to contemporary sources, it caused considerabl ...

, the top two floors were demolished, reducing the structure to its present height of approximately . The 1348 earthquake also resulted in the slight tilting of the structure.

Sources

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Torre Delle Milizie Milizie Towers completed in the 13th century Inclined towers Rome R. I Monti Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor

History

Architecture

See also

Sources

External links