Cremona, Torrazzo

Considered the monument symbol of Cremona, the Torrazzo towers over the town with its 112m of height.
The tower, which is the highest brick bell tower in Europe, was developed in four different phases between the third decade of the 13th century and 1309, the year in which the spire was allegedly completed. The structure of the building is characterised by a double-tower square base, made up of two towers, one inside the other, between which a staircase develops.
The exterior – made of bricks – boasts one of the world’s biggest astronomic clocks, a work by Giovanni Francesco and Giovanni Battista Divizioli who made it in the 1580’s. Its complex mechanism indicates hours, days, months, lunar phases, sun and moon eclipses, and zodiac connections. The pictorial decoration of the quadrant was assigned to painters Dordoni and Pesenti, over the years decorations were repainted many times, until the most recent, by painter Mario Busini.