Torri nuove trecentesche sulle porte, sui ponti, sui porti. La dimensione monumentale delle torri di Cagliari in un quadro di riferimenti internazionali

Marco Cadinu

2022-01-01

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Abstract

In the early XIV century, some city gate towers took on the clear role of symbols of military force and civic power. They concentrate art and architecture, with particular attention to the values of the project and international references. Among the best known cases, we distinguish those that flaunt a gigantism and an aesthetic emphasis, the meanings of which must be sought far beyond simple functional and military contingencies. Often out of scale with respect to the size of the entire defensive apparatus, large towers are used particularly in peacetime as customs offices or representative functions. They project their forms onto spaces of great media significance - such as ports or territorial access roads - and become a symbol of the entire city. The refinement of the prismatic choices and the impressive crowns draws on repertoires influenced by the circulation of architects and workers. The reconstruction study of the two great gate towers of Cagliari, named after San Pancrazio (1305) and the Elephant (1307), facilitated by some contemporary documents, highlights their execution as highly updated war machines and their role as monumental markers for the maritime and urban landscape. We open useful comparisons with towers of other cities in contact with Pisa and Cagliari, such as Florence, Brescia, Oristano, Bosa, Naples, Avignon or Valencia, which allow us to evaluate techniques, stylistic and aesthetic models.