The medieval tower houses of Florence

Overview

In Florence, between the 12th and 13th centuries CE, many tower houses, buildings of vertical development with characteristics typical of military structures, were built. The violent disputes between Guelph and Ghibelline factions that broke out at the beginning of the century, and the limited space available in the city, influenced the evolution of this particular type of habitation. A circle of walls of modest size enclosed such houses. The towers, in fact, in addition to being a real symbol of power for the family that inhabited them, also provided a fair amount of protection in case of attack by other rival families. Competition in building such impressive towers became so extreme that, in 1250 CE, the municipality had to issue an ordinance limiting the height of towers to no more than 30 meters. Through this itinerary, it will be possible to observe some ancient Florentine tower houses from the 13th century that have survived the destruction of rival factions or the neglect of time.

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