Torre del Mangia

Siena's Torre del Mangia rises above Piazza del Campo as a brick expression of civic ambition begun in the age of the Nine. Its name preserves the nickname of the tower's first bell-ringer.

Why it matters

Italian communes competed through their towers. Siena raised its clock tower beside the secular square, matching the city's religious skyline in height and civic dignity. The tower rises eighty-seven metres, or 102 metres including the lightning rod, above the Campo as the vertical arm of the Palazzo Pubblico. Its name derives from Giovanni di Balduccio, the first bell-ringer, whom Sienese nicknamed Mangiaguadagni; the shortened title remained after a mechanical clock took his role in 1360. The tower's fortress-like base, civic architecture and bell reflect different aspects of the republic's public life.

What to notice

The brick shaft is crowned by a pale travertine rocca with a double crenellation, echoing Siena's black-and-white civic colours. The narrow spiral stair is cut through the tower's masonry. The Campanone above the summit was cast in 1666 after earlier attempts and dedicated to the Assumption, hence its name Sunto. Weighing nearly seven tonnes, it became part of the tower's civic soundscape.

Context and history

The tower grew with the Palazzo Pubblico. Municipal records trace the project from 1325 to 1348, with payments recorded from 1338, likely completion by 18 December 1344, and work attested until 1349, when a large bell was installed. The Sienese Agostino di Giovanni and Perugian brothers Minuccio and Francesco di Rinaldo directed work and received payments from the commune between 1341 and 1345. The travertine crown follows their design tradition alongside earlier plans associated with Lippo Memmi. The bell-ringer's nickname fixed the tower's name within a generation of its completion, and a mechanical clock professionalised the manual task in 1360. After earlier castings, the great Campanone entered the tower and became part of Siena's civic ceremonies.