Piccolomini Tower, Medieval tower in Pescina, Italy

The Piccolomini Tower is the keep of the medieval castle of Pescina, built on a rocky spur at 942 metres above sea level. It has a pentagonal base with a battered lower section and stone walls. Only ruins of the wider defensive system remain, including five castle gates.

The site held an Italic Marsic defensive structure, later reinforced in Roman times and abandoned. The counts of Marsi built the Rocca Vecchia between the 11th and 12th centuries. After Frederick II destroyed it around 1232 in his feud with Count Tommaso Berardi, he had it rebuilt. From the mid-15th century the Piccolomini held the barony and restored the castle in Renaissance forms.

The tower takes its name from the Piccolomini family, lords of the local barony from the mid-15th century to the end of the following century, who restored the castle in Renaissance forms. Nearby stands the square bell tower of San Berardo, restored in the 18th century, with the tomb of writer Ignazio Silone at its base.

The tower stands on a rocky spur at 942 m above sea level, dominating the Fucino plain; the site is reached on foot within Pescina. Consolidation works began in 2020, an elevated walkway was installed in 2022, and the restored tower opened to visitors on 15 October 2023. The second tower and the circuit of walls, damaged in 1915, survive only as ruins.

The 1915 Marsica earthquake badly damaged the tower: its upper section collapsed, and the walls of the castle enclosure suffered the heaviest losses. The structure had been listed as a monumental building in 1902. Restoration and safety works began in 2020, an elevated walkway was installed in 2022, and the tower reopened on 15 October 2023.