Taken
literally, it is a narrow bridge that separates the ages of Cagli,
a two-lane fault line that carefully divides old from new. At a distance,
the cool gray of stone and cobblestone forms a subtle contrast to
the ochre of painted stucco.
The architectural dichotomy that permeates the streets of Cagli reaches
its most obvious pinnacle at the site of its tower, Il Torre Martiniana.
Housed inside one of the most ancient of Cagli's buildings there is
now a carefully planned collection of modern art. The exhibit not
only offers a promise of present and future greatness, but also points
toward the town's long and vital history.
With a large area under his control, the Duke in Urbino was forced
to protect each of his towns separately. To this end, the Duke ordered
the design and construction of a defensive tower and fortress to protect
the wall on the outskirts of every town. Cagli's tower was designed
by military architect Francesco di Giorgio Martini, and construction
spanned several years in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.
A decorative 1519, drawn cleanly inside the building's main entrance,
is likely representative of the year in which construction on the
tower was completed.
Although il torrione is actually a
younger sister to the town's main fortress, it too thrived in its
role a defensive unit. The surrounding moat never contained water,
but like the building's unique pentagonal shape it served an important
defensive purpose.
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above: a dimly lit staircase leads to the tunnel that offers passage
to the town's main fortress, located exactly 365 steps into the woods. below:
grafiti can be found on the walls of the tower's top two levels, remnants
left over from the building's brief tenure as a prison.
fact: the town's actual fortress
has been built over, and is shrouded in trees. it now serves as a convent
for two surviving monks, although the town has already purchased the land
for a future renovation and restoration project. the convent rests at the
end of a tunnel that leads to il torre mariniana. the tunnel is exactly 365
steps long and is also set to be restored this summer. |
above: thin slits in the tower's roof allowed inhabitants to
drop rocks or boiling water onto invaders below. below: the number
1519 is drawn throughout the tower, likely representing the year in
which construction on the tower was completed.
Click here to see video
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A series of openings in the floor - organized
in a circle around the exterior of the tower's rooftop - offered a clear
line of sight to the ground, making it possible for inhabitants to drop
rocks and boiling water onto potential invaders in the moat below.
Placed at regular intervals around the tower's first floor, there are four
immense keyholes beside which soldiers could kneel and shoot. Above each
is an opening, carved through meters of stone, designed to allow smoke from
firearms to escape into the air. This prevented smoke from becoming captured
dangerously in the tower's main chamber. Similar holes - without chimnies
- are placed all around the exterior wall of the building's rooftop.
Perhaps the most intriguing attribute of the tower is its ability to defend
from both sides of the wall. The Duke was prepared for invaders, but so
too was he ready for rebellion from within. An equal number of guns could
be aimed inside of the city's wall; two of the keyholes in the main chamber
point toward the town, in case the Cagliese sought to revolt against the
Duke.
Il Torre Martiniana was never the site of a great battle, nor did it prove
to be the ultimate defender of the people of Cagli. Yet its proud stone
walls serve as a constant reminder of the past - an unmovable piece of history
surrounded by a town and a people and a world that together grow more prone
to forgetting with each passing day.
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