The bell tower
The bell tower is the most secluded building in town, with its imposing, massing structure. It rises on a broken ground towering over the city centre tall and haughty, just like a master that has been makes scaring people off for centuries.
The bell tower is a fine building embodying all the architectural features of Romanesque architecture.
The whole block seems to be just a continuation of the rock it stands on. It can be seen as the architectural transposition of a story from the Gospels, an example of Christian beliefs surviving through the Centuries.
We have very little information on the history of the tower: quite likely, the outer walls were built at the same time of the nearby Cathedral, in 1173.
The square building hides an inner circular tower going all the way up to the bell-chamber. It is, perhaps, an older tower, whose structure bears similarities with the parish church (9th – 11th century): it features the same recessed one-light windows and its inner structure reminds us of the specific apses we find in the parish church.
In on of the windows’ splay, we also find a small capital with its damaged support, coming from the parish church’s chancel area, the faux loggias and pluteuses’ plates.
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