Un'architettura in divenire: il campanile maggiore della cattedrale di Palermo (XIV-XIX secolo)
In: Quaderni dell'Istituto di Storia dell'Architettura: 68, 2018
DOI: 10.1400/267214
A place of permanence, but also at times of sudden changes, thanks to, among other things, the tower’s intrinsic vulnerability, and also an example of stratifications which hold together the memory of a previous time and the adherence to current languages and techniques, the bell tower in many cases reflects changes and discontinuities in the dominant architectural culture within a precise urban context, at different moments of its history, sometimes assuming changing values over time. The main bell tower of the Palermo Cathedral represents an eloquent example of this. Permanence and reconstruction are the apparently antithetical terms addressed in this article, synthesizing a troubled construction history, punctuated by collapses, demolitions and reconstructions, moved by different intentions, within a chronological span of time dating between the late Middle Ages and the beginning of the Modern Age.