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The ''Torre Rossa'' (
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
for "Red Tower") is a Romanesque tower located in Asti
Asti ( , , ; pms, Ast ) is a ''comune'' of 74,348 inhabitants (1-1-2021) located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deemed t ...
, Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
.
It is approximately {{convert, 24, m in height and shaped as a 16-sided polygon.
History
The tower is one of the oldest buildings in Asti and was built in different ages: the red part was made in the 1st century BC, while the highest part was built withtuff
Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...
in the 11th century. It was probably one of the two towers of a city gate
A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. It is a type of fortified gateway.
Uses
City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods ...
of Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
period.
It is thought to be the place where Saint Secundus of Asti
Secundus of Asti ( it, Secondo di Asti) (died c. 119) is venerated as a martyr and saint. His feast day is generally celebrated on March 29. Until the 15th century it was celebrated at Asti on March 30, but it is now celebrated there on the fir ...
was jailed before being decapitated on 30 March 119.
In the 12th century it became the ''campanile
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...
'' of an adjacent church, and it still keeps this function today.
The basement was later filled and walled up to increase stability.
A copper steeple was present until 1777, when it was removed as it was unsafe.
See also
* Asti City Walls Towers in Asti