The Torre del Mangia is a tower in Siena, in the Tuscany region of Italy. Built in 1338-1348,[1] it is located in the Piazza del Campo, Siena's premier square, adjacent to the Palazzo Pubblico (Town Hall). When built it was one of the tallest secular towers in mediaeval Italy. At 88 m, it is now second only to Cremona's Torrazzo.
The name (meaning "Tower of the Eater") derives from its first guardian, Giovanni di Balduccio, nicknamed Mangiaguadagni for his tendency to spend all his money on food.
The upper part was realized by Agostino di Giovanni under design by one Mastro Lippo pittore, probably identifiable with Lippo Memmi.
The marble loggia, known as Cappella di Piazza, was added in 1352 as a vow for the Holy Virgin by the Sienese survivors from the Black Death. The pilaster were remade in the current form in 1378, the sculptures decorating them being executed in 1378-1382 by Mariano d'Angelo Romanelli e Bartolomeo di Tommé. The simple wooden ceiling once covering the loggia was replaced by the current Renaissance marble vault in 1461-1468 by Antonio Federighi, also author of the bizarre decorations of the coronation. In 1537-1539 Il Sodoma painted a fresco over the altar, now housed in the Town museum in the Palazzo Pubblico.
The clock was added in 1360.
The tower is visible from all parts of Siena and is adjacent to the Gothic Palazzo Pubblico.
The tower was built to be exactly the same height as the Duomo di Siena as a sign that the church and the state had equal amounts of power.
The walls of the tower are approximately 3 m thick on each side.
The Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower (nicknamed Old Joe) at the University of Birmingham, UK, was inspired by the Torre del Mangia, and couples a similar design with Victorian redbrick styles.
A replica clock tower designed by McKim, Mead & White can be seen in Waterbury, Connecticut in the United States. Completed in 1909, the building it is attached to, then the city's train station, is now headquarters to the region's daily newspaper.
The Pilgrim Monument at Provincetown, USA, designed by Willard T. Sears was built between 1907 and 1910 to commemorate the first landing of the Mayflower Pilgrims in Provincetown on November 21, 1620. The monument is the tallest all-granite structure in the United States, the design patterned after the Torre del Mangia.
The "Pine Street Inn" in Boston Massachusetts, formerly a fire station, is also modeled after the Torre del Mangia.
The Dock Tower in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, UK was built in 1852 and is 94 m high. Its function was as an hydraulic tower to open the lock gates of the Royal Dock. Although obsolete from 1892 onwards, the tower remains as a proud monument to the town and its rich fishing history.
The main building of the Spanish business & law school, ICADE, located in Madrid is topped with a clock tower patterned after the Torre de Mangia.