 Bell tower The bell tower (35 m) of the Palazzo Senatorio was designed by the architect Martino Longhi the Elder (1534-91) and completed in 1582. Crowned with a statue of the goddess Minerva, it replaced a medieval tower that had been struck by lightning. The tower's two bells (1803-4) replaced the famous Patarina, which was stolen from Viterbo and installed in 1200. The Patarina was rung to summon the people to a parlamento. Nowadays, the bells are normally only rung on the election of a new mayor and on Rome's birthday (April 21st). The bell tower also sports the coat of arms of Pope Gregory XIII (r. 1572-85).  Statue of Minerva atop the bell tower of the Palazzo Senatorio  Coat of arms of Pope Gregory XIII Comments are closed.
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Blogging about Rome,
its art, history and culture. My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England. Since 2001 I have lived in Italy, where I run private and
small-group walking tours of Rome. Search Walks in Rome:
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October 2020
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