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Torre Agresti

Towers, historic buildings

Bologna

Torre Agresti is located in Piazza Galileo, among modern buildings. Piazza Galileo was built after the demolition of some nearby buildings between the 20s and 30s and it was enlarged after the bombings of WWII that considerbly destroyed this area of the city. On the night of 2 August 1641 a fire destroyed the two buildings surrounding the tower and the ground floor shop. The fire flared up from another shop and continued for several days as it was poked by a storm. People panicked also because at the time the nearby Lapi Tower was used as a warehouse for gun powder and cartriges. Nothing exploded and the Agresti Tower didn't collapse. But the Spanish College, which had acquired it a few centuries before, had to undergo important works of reconstruction: the tower was adjusted to the surrounding buildings: it was reduced to the current 20metres through the construction of a turret and the typical Bolognese selenite blocks were removed. It was partially hidden by those walls for three centuries. The renovation of the tower didn't undermin its stability and it also resisted after being bombed in 1945. It was renovated in the 60s when the Spanish plaster was removed and its original fascination recovered. Source: Bologna la selva turrita (in Italian) enhancement project of the historical-architectural Bologna's heritage supported by the Fondazione del Monte.