Torre del Mangia (Mangia Tower), Siena (must see)

Rising beside the Public Palace, the Mangia Tower is one of Siena’s most recognizable landmarks and one of the finest medieval towers in Italy. Built between 1338 and 1348, it was among the tallest structures in Italy when completed. Its height was deliberately chosen to rival that of Siena Cathedral, expressing the idea that civic and religious authority held equal importance in the medieval republic.

The tower’s brick-and-stone structure rises approximately 87 to 88 meters, reaching about 102 meters only when the prominent lightning rod at its summit is included. Its slender red-brick shaft is crowned by a pale stone bell chamber, whose upper section is traditionally associated with the Sienese artist Lippo Memmi. This architectural transition is easy to admire from the square below. Look for the white limestone crown, supported by heavy corbels, which interrupts the long crimson-brick shaft. The tower’s design later inspired several structures in Britain and the United States.

The tower’s unusual name literally means “Tower of the Eater.” It refers to its first bell-ringer, Giovanni di Balduccio, nicknamed “the profit eater,” supposedly because he quickly spent his earnings.

The tower originally served as a watchtower, allowing guards to warn Siena’s citizens of approaching enemies. A clock was installed in 1360, while the enormous bell now hanging at the summit was added in 1666 and weighs approximately 6,764 kilograms. Reaching it requires climbing a narrow, winding staircase of around 400 steps. The bell hangs in the center of the upper stone arches, and its weathered dark-green patina can be seen from the open summit terrace. The climb also rewards visitors with one of Siena’s finest panoramas, encompassing Campo Square, the cathedral, the city’s red rooftops, and the rolling Tuscan countryside beyond.

At the base of the tower stands the Piazza Chapel, added in 1352 by survivors of the Black Death as an offering to the Virgin Mary. Enclosing the foot of the tower, the chapel takes the form of an elegant white-marble loggia. Its original wooden roof was replaced with marble between 1461 and 1468, while its sculptural decoration was completed during later renovations.