The Civic Tower (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

: ''Torre Civica'') was a tower built in the

city of

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

in the 11th century, next to

Pavia Cathedral Pavia Cathedral () is a church in Pavia, Italy, the largest in the city and seat of the Diocese of Pavia. The construction was begun in the 15th century on the site of two pre-existing Romanesque, "twin" cathedrals (Santo Stefano and Santa Maria ...

. Built to a rectangular base, it was high.

Description

Between 1583 and 1585, the architect

Pellegrino Tibaldi San Sebastiano (Milan) Pellegrino Tibaldi (1527, Valsolda - 27 May 1596, Milan), also known as Pellegrino di Tibaldo de Pellegrini, was an Italian mannerist architect, sculptor, and mural painter. Biography Tibaldi was born in Puria di Valsolda ...

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 A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

of the cathedral.

The collapse

On 17 March 1989, at 8:55a.m., the Civic Tower collapsed, leaving of brick, sand and granite rubble. The collapse killed four people and injured fifteen. 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 The Leaning Tower of Pisa ( ), or simply the Tower of Pisa (), is the , or freestanding bell tower, of Pisa Cathedral. It is known for its nearly four-degree lean, the result of an unstable Foundation (engineering), foundation. The tower is on ...

on 7 January 1990 over concerns that the popular tourist site might also be at risk of collapse. File:Pavia Regisole 2010.jpg, Remains of the tower (between the statue base and the corner of the Pavia Cathedral). File:820PaviaTorreCivica.JPG, Close-up of remains with a plaque showing its original form

References

External links

Blog with photograph of the structure before its collapse
Buildings and structures in Pavia Buildings and structures completed in 1585 Former buildings and structures in Italy Former towers Building and structure collapses in 1989 March 1989 in Europe 1989 in Italy Building and structure collapses in Italy {{Italy-struct-stub