Torre del Candeliere, Medieval fortified tower in Massa Marittima, Italy.
Torre del Candeliere is a stone tower that rises above the town and connects to the nearby Cassero Senese fortress through a functioning arch. The structure has thick walls and a distinctive form that reflects its role as a defensive building.
The tower was built in 1228 under the Pisan podestà Tedice Malabarba, as an inscription on the tower records, to mark Massa Marittima's expansion beyond the Città Vecchia. In 1335, after long wars with Siena, the town surrendered and the Sienese cut the tower by a third of its height, then built the Cassero Senese, completed on 19 February 1337 and joined to the tower by a 21.79 m single-span arch.
The tower's name comes from the candle that once burned at its top as a signal. Inside, panels on the second floor recount the Massa mint, which struck its own coins from 1317 to 1319, while the third floor displays the clock mechanism. Visitors can also see the 1760 bell, cast in Florence after lightning destroyed the earlier one.
Visitors can climb the tower through a series of stairs and view the town from the upper platform. It is advisable to wear comfortable shoes since the stairs are steep and the climb requires physical effort.
The clock of 1443 sits halfway up the wall facing the piazza, not on the eastern side, and the narrow sail-like structure rises above it on the same face. The bell now on top was cast in Florence after lightning destroyed the 1413 bell on 14 March 1760; it weighs 140 kg and invokes the Madonna, San Cerbone and San Bernardino.
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