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The tower-houses
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In the quarter of San Francesco, next to the river Arno, there is a street called “Via delle Belle Torri”. The name, literally meaning “Street of the beautiful towers”, reminds us of the diffusion of this kind of buildings in medieval cities: namely the tower and its other version, the tower-house. The latter was the type of residence which enjoyed more success, particularly after 1000 A.D.. The tower-house was developed above all to meet the needs of merchants’ families who lived in the trading areas of towns. While towers were typically military structures, not suitable to be used as lodgings, unless for limited periods at the time of riots and urban turmoil, tower-houses could provide larger and more comfortable interiors, still assuring a good defense. Besides tower-houses had rooms which could be used as stores and also as shops at the street level. Until the 11th century almost all towers and tower-houses were entirely or partly built in wood. But from that time on, stone buildings progressively became more common, although some parts, as for instance beams, rafters, terraces, stairs and balconies continued to be made in wood.
The structure of Pisan tower-houses.
From the 11th century on tower-houses were increasingly built and developed in height. Narrow and tall, they could house one room or at most two on each floor. The interiors were all paved in wood and connected through stairs. The kitchen with a big fireplace at its centre was generally upstairs, to let the smoke find a direct exit from the roof. Usually bedrooms were on the lower levels. The groundfloor was often used as warehouse and shop to sell products on the road or otherwise as workshop or even as notarial office. If the shop or the workshop were run by the owner of the tower-house, they were connected to the upper floors. On the contrary, if they were let to other shop-keepers or artisans, than access to the upper floors was separated and the door was often placed at the first level, reachable only by an external staircase. According to some chroniclers, in the 13th century Pisa counted about 5000 among towers and tower-houses. Although this number is certainly by far exaggerated, it shows how common this kind of buildings must have been in the urban landscape of Pisa.