«La sua caduta fu miracolosa». Il crollo della torre del duomo vecchio di Brescia nel 1708

On 5th March 1708 the tower over the entrance of the Duomo Vecchio in Brescia, also known as the Rotonda, collapsed ruinously, thus confirming the hearsay that for a long time had denounced the dangerous conditions of the ancient building. Erected at the same time as the cathedral during the second half of XI century, the Romanesque tower was about 56 meters high, and it housed three bells and probably also a treasury. However, over the centuries the building complex of the cathedral had undergone many changes: among the most significant those made to the tower by the architect Giovan Maria Piantavigna in 1571. As a result of the gradual raising of the street level, the medieval entrance became unusable, therefore Piantavigna was asked to open a new gate in medio turris. This work led to static problems and ultimately to the implosion of the tower, despite the attempts of the Venetian architect Andrea Tirali to reinforce it. Through the analysis of chronicles, archival records, and iconographic sources this essay aims to throw light on the reasons for the sixteenth-century intervention, the early eighteenth-century restauration, and the causes of the final collapse of the tower.