Interesting Sites Nearby
User Reviews
The Torre Troyana (after the family Troya that built it) is a tower in Asti, Italy, and one of the main symbols of the city. It is a campanile, or freestanding bell tower, and in the 19th century it was used to signal hours during daylight.
The tower is 44 metres high and is square in plan with 5.90-metre sides. It ends with Ghibelline merlons surmounted by a metal pinnacle which covers a clock.
The basement was built in late 12th century. The original client is unknown, but the construction remained incomplete. In the first half of the 13th century, the powerful family of bankers Troya bought the unfinished tower and resumed the building; the tower was then finished somewhere between 1260 and 1280. In the Middle Ages it was a common practice for powerful and rich families to build a tall tower to show off their wealth: during the history there have been about 120 towers in Asti, of which several still remain.
Following the decline of Troja family, in the second half of 14th century the tower was annexed to the nearby building, which was the seat of the government of the city, headed by the Dukes of Orléans. Later in 1422 Filippo Maria Visconti moved the seat of government to another building and the former one was assigned to the use of the town council. A clock was then placed in the tower and in 1470 the roof and the steeple were added. The seat of the city council was later moved again, but the tower kept its public function. In 1560, Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy finally donated the tower to the city council.
A bell was first placed in the tower in early 15th century, but the current one dates back to the 16th century and is the second most ancient bell in Piedmont and the most ancient that still marks the hours, the older one being preserved in a museum.
References:Duino Castle was built by the Wallsee family in 1389 on the cliffs overlooking the Gulf of Trieste. It replaced an older castle from the 11th century. Over time, the Wallsee family disappeared and the castle, after having been used as a prison, became the residence of the Luogar and Hofer.
At the end of the 19th century it became the property of Prince Alexander von Thurn und Taxis from the Czech branch of the House of Thurn and Taxis. It remains with the family to this day with his great-grandson Prince Carlo Alessandro della Torre e Tasso, Duke of Castel Duino the current owner. The castle has been opened to the public as a museum and park.