Description
The Torre della Gabbia is a 55-metre medieval brick tower on Via Cavour in the centre of Mantua, not far from Piazza Sordello: it owes its name to the iron cage hanging in mid-air, where condemned people were once put on public display.
The cage was built in 1576 by Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga as an open-air prison. Thick iron bars enclose a space of about two metres by one, just over a metre high: cramped enough to make the punishment even harsher.
The condemned stayed locked in it in full view of the whole city, sometimes for a long time. The most famous case is that of Marchino Ziganti, a pickpocket of the day, who spent three whole months there.
Until then the building was called the torre degli Acerbi, after the family who had built it, starting in the 13th century. In 1281 the Acerbi sold it to Pinamonte Bonacolsi; with the fall of the Bonacolsi the tower was long neglected.
Later it was absorbed into the palace of the Guerrieri, later Guerrieri Gonzaga, to whom Francesco II Gonzaga had given it. In the 16th century the façade facing today's Via Cavour was remodelled in Renaissance style, with elegant marble pilasters and decorations from the school of Mantegna.
Next to the tower survives the Bonacolsi chapel, with a 14th-century fresco cycle in the style of Giotto, belonging to the family that had bought the tower in 1281.
In 1850 the property passed to Senator Giuseppe Cadenazzi; later, after a division among the co-owners, the tower, in need of restoration, was given to the municipality. The earthquake of May 2012 knocked loose bricks and plaster and opened some cracks.
Restoration work began in 2017, with the idea of one day letting visitors climb all the way to the top.
The cage was built in 1576 by Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga as an open-air prison. Thick iron bars enclose a space of about two metres by one, just over a metre high: cramped enough to make the punishment even harsher.
The condemned stayed locked in it in full view of the whole city, sometimes for a long time. The most famous case is that of Marchino Ziganti, a pickpocket of the day, who spent three whole months there.
Until then the building was called the torre degli Acerbi, after the family who had built it, starting in the 13th century. In 1281 the Acerbi sold it to Pinamonte Bonacolsi; with the fall of the Bonacolsi the tower was long neglected.
Later it was absorbed into the palace of the Guerrieri, later Guerrieri Gonzaga, to whom Francesco II Gonzaga had given it. In the 16th century the façade facing today's Via Cavour was remodelled in Renaissance style, with elegant marble pilasters and decorations from the school of Mantegna.
Next to the tower survives the Bonacolsi chapel, with a 14th-century fresco cycle in the style of Giotto, belonging to the family that had bought the tower in 1281.
In 1850 the property passed to Senator Giuseppe Cadenazzi; later, after a division among the co-owners, the tower, in need of restoration, was given to the municipality. The earthquake of May 2012 knocked loose bricks and plaster and opened some cracks.
Restoration work began in 2017, with the idea of one day letting visitors climb all the way to the top.