Pirelli Tower, Skyscraper near Central Station, Milan, Italy
Pirelli Tower is a 110-meter skyscraper near Central Station in Milan. Its glass and steel facade features tapered sides and stretches across a width of 55 meters with a length of just under 28 meters.
The building rose between 1956 and 1960 as the headquarters of a well-known Italian tire company. For decades it held the title of tallest structure in Italy, until 1995 when another skyscraper surpassed it.
The name comes from the tire company that originally used the building as its headquarters. At the tower's top stands a small golden figure, honoring the tradition that no structure should rise higher than the Madonnina atop Milan's cathedral.
The building now houses offices of the Lombardy regional government and is not open to the public. Its location near the railway station makes it easy to reach on foot, and its shape can be seen from many streets in the city center.
The top can sway back and forth up to 14 centimeters during strong winds, which is part of the original design. This flexibility helps absorb stress from storms with speeds up to 400 kilometers per hour (about 250 miles per hour).
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