Description of the attraction
Torrazzo is the bell tower of the Cathedral of Cremona, considered the third highest (112.7 m) brick bell tower in the world (the first place belongs to the bell tower of the Church of St. Martin in Bavaria, and the second to the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Bruges, Belgium). At the same time, Torrazzo, built in 1309, is older than both the Bavarian bell tower, which was completed in 1500, and the Belgian one, built in 1465. It is also the world's oldest surviving brick structure, over 100 meters high.
According to legend, the construction of Torrazzo began in 754, but it has been reliably established that the construction of the bell tower took place in four stages. The first was started in the 1230s, the second was carried out in 1250-1267, the third took place in about 1284, and the construction was completed with the raising of a marble spire in 1309. The height of the tower is indicated on a special plate placed on the wall at the base of Torrazzo - according to the old Lombard measuring system, it was equal to approximately 111 meters.
During archaeological excavations in the 1980s, an underground structure was discovered that is likely the remains of an older churchyard (or church cemetery) or even an ancient Roman structure.
Torrazzo is home to the world's largest astronomical clock. This mechanism was made by Francesco and Giovanni Battista Divizioli (father and son) between 1583 and 1588. The bell tower itself was painted by Paolo Scazzola in 1483 and was re-decorated several times later. Today on it you can see the image of the sky with the signs of the zodiac, the sun and the moon.
