Museum and Tower of Pagliazza

The Pagliazza tower is located in the small square of Sant'Elisabetta, in the oldest part of the center of Florence. The origins of this structure, often regarded as the oldest building in Florence that has maintained its original appearance, are uncertain, dating between the 6th and 7th centuries, although it rests on even older Roman foundations. During the excavations carried out for the last restoration, it was discovered that the foundations of the building were actually resting on a Roman structure, the only one known in this part of the city. The tower indeed leans on a circular wall that enclosed a pool or a room of a thermal structure from Roman Florentia, the secondary baths (public or private?) following those located near the Ponte Vecchio (now beneath Via delle Terme). It is believed that this semi-circular base structure contributed to the unusual semi-circular shape of the tower, which is almost unique in Florence, alongside another partially preserved near Via delle Terme and perhaps belonging to the ancient caput aquae of the Roman aqueduct, the 'Capaccio.' The circular shape resembles that of the Roman walls and is quite rare in the medieval period. The excavations revealed the original brick floor and some ancient walls. The tower was then supposedly raised by the Byzantines, when they entered the city during the Gothic War, as part of the fortification of a reduced ring of walls (the actual existence of which is still debated by archaeologists), or according to other theories, by the Lombards a century later, as a simple tower house. During the early Middle Ages, the fate of the building is unknown, and the excavations have not uncovered structures or materials relevant to this period. Starting from the 12th century, the information becomes more precise, when it is mentioned in 1268 as a prison, while in 1285 its female usage is specified. The name of the tower is thought to derive from the straw mattresses on which the detainees lay. Subsequently, the tower was repurposed as the bell tower of the church of San Michele alle Trombe or in Palco or in Palchetto, which was renamed in the 13th century as the church of Sant'Elisabetta, of which some traces remain in the building adjacent to the tower (a baptismal font and some paintings). The church was used until 1785, and then absorbed into a curtain of private residences. Today, the tower and the surrounding buildings house a hotel, although the structure is owned by the National Insurance Institute, which financed a restoration and enhancement process considered exemplary by many, designed by architect Italo Gamberini (1983-1988). The restoration freed the tower from the structures that obscured it from view from the street, giving it an appearance close to that of the 15th century, as documented by an illustration in the Rustici Codex, when a few small shops were opened on the ground floor after the cessation of its use as a prison, while the upper floors were used as residences and storage. To showcase the archaeological finds from the excavations, a small museum has been set up at the base of the tower, which is visitable upon request. The excavations also returned a considerable number of ceramic pieces, dating especially from the 16th and 17th centuries. The first showcase displays a close selection of Roman shards discovered in the oldest layer of the excavations. The pieces are not numerous, due to the repeated use of the locations in later periods, and they do not have particular artistic value, but they are an interesting testimony to the history of the site: some indeed date back to the period of the founding of Florentia (1st century AD), while higher up there is a layer of 'abandonment' datable to the 4th-5th century AD, with ceramics pertaining to this period recognizable by their red glazes and impressed decorations. The second showcase highlights the chronological gap of artifacts referable to the early Middle Ages and the early centuries of the late Middle Ages. The displayed artifacts are indeed fragments of ceramics from the 14th century, with various shapes characterized by elegant decoration. The Renaissance and post-Renaissance ceramics represented can be divided into three categories: maiolicas, engobed ceramics, and graffito pieces, mainly of Montelupo production. Among them, large plates in a summary style stand out, featuring animals, views of towns, or human figures in the center, alongside 16th-century bowls with rich polychrome geometric decoration. Another showcase displays more significant works from the Montelupo ceramic manufacture, such as those decorated using the 'blue graffito' technique, or the 'harlequins' (first half of the 17th century) with large painted figures. Also notable are the large trays with emblems in the center.