The Torre della Ghirlandina or simply Ghirlandina is the bell tower of the Cathedral of Modena, in

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Standing at 86.12 metres, the tower is the traditional symbol of Modena, being visible from all directions outside the city. The structure was set up in 1179 on five floors, initially called ''Torre di San Geminiano''. To compete with

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

's towers, the Comune added the characteristic octagonal cusp, designed by Arrigo da Campione, one of the numerous masters from Campione who took part in the cathedral's renovation in the 13th-15th centuries. The top of the tower is decorated with two ''ghirlande'' (two marble railings), whence the name. In the interior, the ''Sala della Secchia'' room (with 15th-century frescoes) is home of a copy of the depiction of the ''Secchia rapita'', a memory of the tower's former role as treasury of the Modenese Comune. Also notable are the sculpted capitals in the ''Sala dei Torresani'' hall, in the fifth floor. The five bells are tuned in C major, cast during the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

period. It also has a stand for the oaken bucket from the War of the Bucket.

Restoration

The tower underwent a restoration started in December 2007. At the beginning it was said it would be finished by the year 2010, but restoration work lasted till September 2011. During the work, the scaffolding was hidden behind an artistic screen painted by the Italian sculptor

Mimmo Paladino Mimmo Paladino (born Paduli, 18 December 1948) is an Italian sculptor, painter and printmaker. He is a leading name in the Transvanguardia artistic movement and one of the many European artists to revive Expressionism in the 1980s. Biography ...

. This choice has caused perplexity in the town, given the high cost of the operation and the very idea of it.

Sources

*This article was originally a translation o
this version
of :it:Ghirlandina from the Italian-language Wikipedia and the Emilian e Rumagnòl-language Wikipedia :eml:Ghirlandèina.
The Ghirlandina Tower: Conservation ProjectThe Ghirlandina Tower: History and Restoration
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Modena World Heritage Sites in Italy Ghirlandina Buildings and structures completed in 1179