One of the tallest brick bell towers in the world
Piazza del Comune in Cremona is one of the most beautiful medieval squares in Italy, enclosed by the Romanesque-Gothic cathedral, with its white marble façade and great rose window, the octagonal baptistery, the Loggia dei Militi and the Palazzo Comunale. Rising above them all is the Torrazzo, the bell tower of the cathedral and the symbol of the city.
Built in the thirteenth century and completed at the beginning of the fourteenth with a Gothic marble crown, it is about 112 metres high, one of the tallest brick bell towers in the world and the tallest medieval one in Europe. On its façade is a large astronomical clock from 1583, which shows the hours, the phases of the moon, the signs of the zodiac and the constellations. By climbing its 502 steps you reach the top, with a view over the roofs of the city, the Po river and the plain as far as the Alps. Inside the cathedral is a cycle of sixteenth century frescoes by painters such as Pordenone, Boccaccino and Romanino.
Tip: a Cremonese saying lists the city's "three Ts": Torrazzo, torrone and tette (breasts); halfway up the tower a room tells the history of measuring time.
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