Torre Belforti

Via Rapucci, 1, 56040 Montecatini Val di Cecina PI, Italia
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133 views

Distance
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Duration
0 h

Type
Palazzi, Ville e Castelli

Description

28 meters high and divided into five floors, the Tower Belforti is a construction with a quadrangular base, whose lower part has a two-color obtained with alternating rows of light and dark stone. The walls have a thickness that varies from over three meters of the base to about two meters of the highest part. Among the cracks on the sides, all arched and arranged in an asymmetrical manner, of particular interest are the two oculi turned strategically one towards the Fortress of Volterra and the other towards the Rocca Sillana. It was built in the fourteenth century by the will of the family Belforti of Volterra on a pre-existing tower of smaller size. In fact, it is thought that the tower was part of a larger fortification work that included a wall with some minor towers. The tower was the symbol of the rise to power of this family that, after a long dispute with the rival Allegretti family, in 1340 conquered the lordship of Volterra. After a long period of abandonment, at the end of the 60's the tower was bought by Emilio Jesi, a coffee industrialist and great art lover. Today the Tower is a private accommodation facility but it is open to guided tours.