Civic Tower of Gultieri

A monumental gateway to the Renaissance town

The Civic Tower of Gualtieri rises majestically among the arcades of the historic center and, through a large round archway, fulfills a dual function: a monumental entrance to Piazza Bentivoglio and a scenic gateway leading into Via Vittorio Emanuele, one of the town's most elegant streets.

Standing 44 meters high, the tower still signals the heart of the city to arriving visitors today. It was designed by the architect Giovanni Battista Aleotti as a grand portal and privileged passage into the vast Renaissance square commissioned by the Bentivoglio family. Present-day Via Vittorio Emanuele, which terminates directly beneath the tower, symbolically connects the medieval village of Piazza Nuova with the newly planned Renaissance urban center.

The structure features a quadrilateral layout that tapers progressively upward, resembling an inverted telescope and culminates in an elegant octagonal lantern. Each level is defined by distinct architectural orders on its pilasters: Doric capitals on the first level, Ionic on the second, and flat capitals on the third (likely replacing original Corinthian capitals that were lost over time). The tower originally consisted of only two levels; the third floor and lantern were added in the 18th century.

Beneath the tower's vaulted passage, visitors can observe a curious padimetro (water-level gauge) marking the high-water level reached by the Po River flood of 1705, a valuable historical testament to the natural events that shaped the region.

Curiosities

On the south side of the second floor, a sundial calculated "in the French style" (ore alla francese) is visible, which was used in the past to calibrate the mechanical clock. The town’s coat of arms, a white cross on a blue field, has been recently repainted, restoring one of the tower's most recognizable symbols.