Torre della Ghirlandina

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Torre della Ghirlandina (Ghirlandina Tower)
Duomo di Modena (Modena Cathedral)
Piazza Grande
Modena, May 2024

“The Torre della Ghirlandina or simply Ghirlandina is the bell tower of the Cathedral of Modena, in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. 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'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 period. It also has a stand for the oaken bucket from the War of the Bucket.” (Torre della Ghirlandina, Wikipedia)

One hundred holes

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“One hundred holes” bell tower
Santa Maria della Pieve
Corso Italia
Arezzo, February 2022

“The bell tower has a sturdy appearance with five rows of mullioned windows. Internally, the base houses the baptistery. The baptismal font dates to the 14th century, and has panels with Stories of St. John the Baptist by Giovanni d'Agostino (1332–1333).” (Santa Maria della Pieve, Wikipedia)

El Miguelete

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El Miguelete
Plaza de la Reina
Valencia, September 2022

“This is the Valencian Gothic-style bell tower of Valncia Cathedral. It is 50.85 metres high and was built between 1381 and 1424 by Andrés Juliá and others. Access to the tower is from inside the Cathedral by means of a spiral staircase with 207 steps. An 18th century steeple crowns the Miguelete belfry.” (El Miguelete, Visit Valencia)

La Giralda

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La Giralda
Avenida de la Constitución
Seville, September 2022

“The Giralda (Spanish: La Giralda) is the bell tower of Seville Cathedral in Seville, Spain.[1] It was built as the minaret for the Great Mosque of Seville in al-Andalus, Moorish Spain, during the reign of the Almohad dynasty, with a Renaissance-style belfry added by the Catholics after the expulsion of the Muslims from the area. The Giralda was registered in 1987 as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, along with the Alcázar and the General Archive of the Indies. The tower is 104.1 m (342 ft) in height and remains one of the most important symbols of the city, as it has been since the Middle Ages.” (Giralda, Wikipedia)

Bell tower of the cathedral

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Bell tower
Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta
(Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta)
Piazza San Giovanni
Volterra, September 2021

“Nicola Pisano is said to have been involved in further reconstruction in the mid 13th century. The rustic stone façade was built in Romanesque style using spolia from the Roman theater of Volterra in the portal. The intarsia over the door is attributed to Pisano. In 1580, bishop Guido Serguidi, with the approval of Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, commissioned the decoration of the intricately coffered ceiling of the nave and crossings, designed by Francesco Capriani, carved by Jacopo Pavolini, and gilded by Fulvo della Tuccia. The ceiling has sculpted reliefs of Saints Ugo, Giusto, Pope Linus, Clemente, Attinea, and Greciniana, round a central symbol of the Holy Spirit. The campanile of 1493 replaced an older belltower.” (Volterra Cathedral, Wikipedia)

Santi Michele e Gaetano

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Bell tower of the church of Santi Michele and Gaetano (Saints Michael and Cajetan)
Seen from Via dei Pescioni
Florence, May 2022

“San Gaetano, also known as Santi Michele e Gaetano, is a Baroque church in Florence, Italy, located on the Piazza Antinori, entrusted to the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. A Romanesque church, dedicated solely to Saint Michael the Archangel, had been located at the site for centuries prior to its Baroque reconstruction. Patronized by the Theatine order, the new church was dedicated to Saint Cajetan, one of the founders of the order, though the church could not formally be named after him until his canonisation in 1671. Funding for this reconstruction was obtained from the noble families in Florence, including the Medicis. Cardinal Carlo de' Medici was particularly concerned with the work, and his name is inscribed on the façade. Building took place between 1604 and 1648. The original designs were by Bernardo Buontalenti but a number of architects had a hand in building it, each of whom changed the design. The most important architects were Matteo Nigetti and Gherardo Silvani.” (San Gaetano, Wikipedia)

Collegiata di San Martino

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Bell tower
Collegiata di San Martino (Collegiate Church of San Martino)
Piazza Duomo
Pietrasanta, September 2021

“The 36 m-tall bell tower has a simple brickwork appearance, but was originally also to be covered with marble plates. It was finished in the late 15th-early 16th centuries by the Florentine architect Donato Benti. In the interior is a curious helicoidal staircase.” (San Martino, Wikipedia)

Bell Tower and Dome

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Bell tower and dome
Duomo di Siena (Siena Cathedral)
Piazza del Duomo
Siena, April 2017

Loreta

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Loreta
Loretánské náměstí
Hradčany (Castle District)
Prague, September 2017

“Loreta is a pilgrimage destination in Hradčany, a district of Prague, Czech Republic. It consists of a cloister, the church of the Lord’s Birth, the Santa Casa and a clock tower with a famous chime. Construction started in 1626 and the Holy Hut was blessed on 25 March 1631. The architect was the Italian Giovanni Orsi, and the project was financed by Kateřina Benigna, a noblewoman of the Lobkowicz family. Fifty years later the place of pilgrimage was surrounded by cloisters, to which an upper storey was added after 1740 by Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer. The baroque facade was designed by the architects Christoph Dientzenhofer and Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer, and added at the beginning of the 18th century.”

Torre del Campano

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Torre del Campano (Tower of the Bell)
Via Cavalca
Pisa, May 2013

“The most famous medieval building on Via Calvalca is the Torre dei Caciaioli, now known as Torre del Campano (from the bell that in the late 18th century summoned students to lectures at the university). This is a tall square building with pilasters culminating in a pointed arch in the western front, with smaller pointed arches on the other facades.” (Campano Tower and other medieval buildings, Comune di Pisa)