Torre Civica

Beside the old pieve of Santo Stefano rises Rapallo's civic bell tower. On 5 January 1473, an assembly of local families resolved to build it as a sign of peace after years of factional violence. The bronze bell cast in 1640 bears the city's arms, and the tower was declared a national monument in 1910.

Why it matters

Rapallo's tower began with a civic decision: some thirty men from leading families voted to build the campanile of Santo Stefano as a sign of peace among the Adorno, Fregoso and Fieschi factions. A household tax funded the work. The bell later called councils, marked the hours and, during the Second World War, the tower carried an air-raid siren. It became a lasting symbol of the commune's civic life.

What to notice

Squared stone blocks give the tower its solid appearance beside Santo Stefano, which had no bell tower when the commune decided to build one. The 1640 bell bears the city's coats of arms; the 1581 raising added a marble terrace and a Flemish hour bell. The tower stands near the former medieval podesteria and hospital of Sant'Antonio, whose building is now the town hall.

Context and history

The 1473 assembly named four delegates—Francesco Della Torre, physician Benedetto Canevale, Antonio Della Cella and Giovanni Bardi—to levy a tax on the town's households. In 1581 the tower was raised and given its marble terrace and new hour bell; a major recasting in 1640 produced the bell that survives. Lightning struck in 1873, after which repairs moved the clock to the top with four dials. The state recognised the campanone del Comune as a national monument in 1910. After the wartime siren was installed, the tower's base was consolidated; restoration of the fabric was completed in the early 2000s.