Torre della Zecca

At Piazza Piave, where Florence’s final medieval wall circuit met the Arno, Torre della Zecca preserves the name of the river-powered mint once located here. The isolated tower is a surviving fragment of the city’s old defensive perimeter.

Why it matters

Florence’s last medieval wall circuit, begun in 1284 and completed in 1333, extended for more than eight kilometres and enclosed both sides of the Arno. Much of the circuit disappeared during nineteenth-century redevelopment. Torre della Zecca remains on the north bank, opposite the Torre di San Niccolò on the south.

What to notice

The tower’s name recalls a mint where the river’s current powered the hammers used to strike Florentine coins. The mint moved to this location from a site near Palazzo Vecchio after construction of the Loggia dei Signori. The tower now stands apart from the demolished wall and the adjoining Zecca Vecchia works, revealing how it once belonged to a larger system of city defence and river-side industry.

Context and history

The tower is part of the final medieval wall circuit, whose construction was ordered by the Signoria in 1284 and completed in 1333. In the nineteenth century, Florence’s expansion led to the demolition of most of the walls. Renovation of Torre della Zecca was completed in 2016, and the city later included it in cultural programmes exploring Florence’s towers and fortifications.