TORRE DEI CADUTI

Originally designed by Marcello Piacentini with a decorative function, in 1921 it became a memorial to Bergamo's fallen soldiers in the First World War and throughout the twentieth century it "witnessed" political and social events. Square in plan, forty-five metres high, it has six storeys, a marble balcony overlooking Piazza Vittorio Veneto and a bell tower at the top.

On the ground floor and in the corners, the stonework is reminiscent of the Gombito Tower in the upper city. Inside, a fascinating itinerary among photographs, architectural drawings, and everyday objects, recounts the birth of Piacenza's centre and the life of Bergamo around the monument, which has become a symbol of modern Bergamo. The itinerary deals with the dedication to the fallen soldiers, the construction of the building, the impact of the Great War on the territory, the public use of spaces and the forms of sociality in the new city centre.

On the second floor, a database provides information on the 12,338 soldiers from the city and province who died during the Great War.

On the third, images from the Sestini Photographic Archive show the Tower at the centre of gatherings and ceremonies from Fascism and throughout the post-World War II period. On the fifth floor one can admire the imposing original mechanism of the two-dial clock, the work of the company Cavalier Giovanni Frassoni, the only depositary in Italy of the patent for the automatic winding of tower clocks in the late 19th and early 20th century. At the top of the building, the panoramic terrace offers an unprecedented 360° view: from the Sentierone to the Walls of Città Alta in a photo-proof skyline.

The Torre dei Caduti (Fallen Tower) is one of the six sites in the network of the Museo delle storie di Bergamo (Bergamo History Museum), a diffuse historical museum that tells the story of Bergamo from Roman times to the 20th century.