Itineraries


From a document dating back to 1198 we come to know about the building of a tower the inhabitants of Pavia had wanted as a symbol of their supremacy over the village. Ludovico il Moro and his wife Beatrice d'Este wanted the tower to be raised in the years between 1492 and '94 as is attested by a tablet placed on its entrance: now it is over 55 metres higher than the level of the Castle yard and about 64 metres than the square level. Its foundations lie on the city walls of the original medieval village of "Vicogeboin", and during Ludovico il Moro's domination it had the role of the honour entrance to the Castle. In 1571 the municipal chancellor Simone del Pozzo wrote in the ecclesiastic land estimate: "... one of the most wonderful and powerful towers in Italy, work and invention of that big architect Bramante from Urbino...". These words are all we have as evidence of Bramante's contribution. The copper cupola was added in 1563. In 1605 it was greatly damaged by a fire caused by the illuminations disposed to celebrate the birth of a Spanish Prince. It was damaged again in 1670 by lightning. The battlement of its lower part onwards the court of the Castle were remade recently.

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