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Casa Torre del Campano - Pisa in Tuscany

The austere building is rectangular, almost square, in plan and is divided into several sections differing in building material. The original structure, from the base to the third floor, is built of Verrucana stone; the upper section is made of small irregular blocks. All over the outside of the tower are a large number of square holes left by the wooden scaffolding used during the construction. The building is topped by an 18th-century belfry. The origins of the tower seem to date from the mid-12th century, when it enjoyed a strategic position in the heart of the city, being close to both the River Arno and the centre of political power of the Pisan Republic.

Little information is available about the original owners, as is the case with all the secular buildings in the area. A “domus” is documented from 1173 to 1186 as belonging to the Griffi family. In the mid-12th century, a member of the family, the consul Cocco Griffi, began the construction of the new city walls. The first reliable information concerning ownership of the tower can be drawn from the local land register around 1430, when numerous shops and workshops were present in the area that was crossed by the Via dei Caciaioli (present-day Via Cavalca). The area has retained its commercial character to the present day, being located near the market-place of Piazza delle Vettovaglie. The Torre del Campano itself, before taking its modern name, was known as Torre dei Caciai (cheesemongers’ tower) until in the 18th century, under the rule of Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo I of Lorraine, it was purchased by Pisa University to become a clock tower. To allow this new function to be fulfilled, a belfry was added to the tower, making it even more imposing. The current name Torre del Campano has been in use since 1785, and is derived from the presence of a bell (“campana”) which struck the hours for the students of the nearby Pisa University.

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