The Torre degli Anziani restoration project by Architettura Tommasi returns one of Padua’s symbolic landmarks to the city. After a long period of closure and centuries spent standing guard over the city’s squares, the Torre degli Anziani, historic focal point of the urban core, reopens to the public thanks to a significant architectural, structural, and conservation intervention carried out by Architettura Tommasi, led by architect and partner Tommaso Tommasi and Gianni Tommasi, founder. For the first time, the Torre degli Anziani will be accessible to all.
Padua rediscovers one of its oldest and most emblematic monuments.
An ambitious and extremely delicate project that restores to the city a lost viewpoint: an extraordinary panorama over the monuments, squares, and landscapes that have shaped Padua’s collective imagination. The building is the ancient turrim communis, the civic tower of the city of Padua. It is a public bell tower that over the centuries has been known by various names, including Torre del Comune, Torre Bianca, and Torre della Giustizia. In the first half of the twentieth century it resumed one of its oldest names, Torre degli Anziani, used at least until the early fourteenth century, so called because the tower and its bells were under the direct authority of the Council of the Elders, the executive body of the comunancia, the free commune of Padua. The tower stands at the city’s nerve center, between Via Oberdan and Piazza della Frutta, at the junction of three medieval districts (Torricelle, Altinate, Duomo).
The intervention by Architettura Tommasi, developed from 2019 and completed through two years of complex works, focused on the new internal staircase of 190 steps, an element that, for the first time in the tower’s history, makes its summit accessible to the public. A technical and cultural achievement that reactivates a visual relationship with the entire historic center: from the majestic vault of the Palazzo della Ragione to the Astrological Clock Tower, from the Cathedral to Teatro Verdi, from the basilicas of Saint Anthony and Saint Justina to the Euganean Hills and, on the clearest days, as far as the crown of the Dolomites.
“From the very beginning, our idea was to make the building and this historic structure accessible to future generations – stated architect Tommaso Tommasi of Architettura Tommasi – Introducing the new staircase was a key element of the overall project, because the restoration is not only conservative, but also a form of cultural enhancement, making a structure that until now could not be entered accessible to the entire community. The real challenge was to harmoniously integrate a new and modern element such as the staircase into a historic tower that is a symbol of the city.”
An ambitious and extremely delicate project that restores to the city a lost viewpoint: an extraordinary panorama over the monuments, squares, and landscapes that have shaped Padua’s collective imagination. The building is the ancient turrim communis, the civic tower of the city of Padua. It is a public bell tower that over the centuries has been known by various names, including Torre del Comune, Torre Bianca, and Torre della Giustizia. In the first half of the twentieth century it resumed one of its oldest names, Torre degli Anziani, used at least until the early fourteenth century, so called because the tower and its bells were under the direct authority of the Council of the Elders, the executive body of the comunancia, the free commune of Padua. The tower stands at the city’s nerve center, between Via Oberdan and Piazza della Frutta, at the junction of three medieval districts (Torricelle, Altinate, Duomo).
The intervention by Architettura Tommasi, developed from 2019 and completed through two years of complex works, focused on the new internal staircase of 190 steps, an element that, for the first time in the tower’s history, makes its summit accessible to the public. A technical and cultural achievement that reactivates a visual relationship with the entire historic center: from the majestic vault of the Palazzo della Ragione to the Astrological Clock Tower, from the Cathedral to Teatro Verdi, from the basilicas of Saint Anthony and Saint Justina to the Euganean Hills and, on the clearest days, as far as the crown of the Dolomites.
“From the very beginning, our idea was to make the building and this historic structure accessible to future generations – stated architect Tommaso Tommasi of Architettura Tommasi – Introducing the new staircase was a key element of the overall project, because the restoration is not only conservative, but also a form of cultural enhancement, making a structure that until now could not be entered accessible to the entire community. The real challenge was to harmoniously integrate a new and modern element such as the staircase into a historic tower that is a symbol of the city.”
A project between history, engineering, and urban sensitivity.
The intervention involved the interior, exterior, and roof of the tower, following principles of the utmost respect for the historic structure while resolving critical issues that had accumulated over time.
At the entrance, a new educational and exhibition space was created, previously nonexistent: a multimedia room where a presentation on the history of the tower is projected and from which, through a system of real-time connected cameras, visitors with disabilities can also enjoy the panoramic view from the top.
The staircase designed by Architettura Tommasi forms the heart of the transformation. The original wooden solution was replaced with a steel structure in compliance with fire-safety regulations. The insertion of the new staircase required a particularly sophisticated structural intervention, including internal reinforcement with next-generation chains and tie rods; steel ring beams to ensure the stability of the historic masonry; core drilling and localized reinforcements to integrate the staircase into the load-bearing vault; cleaning and polishing of the internal surfaces while preserving visible historical traces, including the consolidation dated January 17, 1940, still visible at the entrance. Great care was also devoted to the historic bell, which was temporarily moved using jacks to allow the staircase to pass up to the highest accessible level.
The intervention involved the interior, exterior, and roof of the tower, following principles of the utmost respect for the historic structure while resolving critical issues that had accumulated over time.
At the entrance, a new educational and exhibition space was created, previously nonexistent: a multimedia room where a presentation on the history of the tower is projected and from which, through a system of real-time connected cameras, visitors with disabilities can also enjoy the panoramic view from the top.
The staircase designed by Architettura Tommasi forms the heart of the transformation. The original wooden solution was replaced with a steel structure in compliance with fire-safety regulations. The insertion of the new staircase required a particularly sophisticated structural intervention, including internal reinforcement with next-generation chains and tie rods; steel ring beams to ensure the stability of the historic masonry; core drilling and localized reinforcements to integrate the staircase into the load-bearing vault; cleaning and polishing of the internal surfaces while preserving visible historical traces, including the consolidation dated January 17, 1940, still visible at the entrance. Great care was also devoted to the historic bell, which was temporarily moved using jacks to allow the staircase to pass up to the highest accessible level.
The Rebirth of a Civic Symbol
Rising 47 meters high and located at the oldest point of the city, the Torre degli Anziani thus returns to being an active and vital urban landmark. Its reopening represents a “gift” to the community and to the city’s heritage: a place of rediscovered memory and, at the same time, a visual platform that connects history, landscape, and contemporary life. The project by Architettura Tommasi creates an access that had never before existed for the general public and restores to the city a privileged viewpoint, capable of telling the story of Padua in all its architectural, cultural, and geographical breadth.
Rising 47 meters high and located at the oldest point of the city, the Torre degli Anziani thus returns to being an active and vital urban landmark. Its reopening represents a “gift” to the community and to the city’s heritage: a place of rediscovered memory and, at the same time, a visual platform that connects history, landscape, and contemporary life. The project by Architettura Tommasi creates an access that had never before existed for the general public and restores to the city a privileged viewpoint, capable of telling the story of Padua in all its architectural, cultural, and geographical breadth.
