It may not be like San Gimignano, but certainly Rome also has, in its skyline, many beautiful medieval towers that soar into the sky of the Eternal City. The vast majority of them are about 7 centuries old, memories of a rather turbulent past in which many noble and baronial families literally waged war on each other to seize power. Think of the so-called Torre del Papitto (which you can learn more about by clicking here), just to give you an idea. Today, however, your tour guide in Rome will take you to discover the so-called Torre Margana (or of the Margani), one of the symbols of a small area nestled between the Ghetto and the Capitoline Hill. Let’s discover it together.

Obviously, the name comes from the Margani family, about whom we have certain and written records at least since the 12th century. As was common at the time, such a tower had a defensive function, of course, but also served as a residence. It was a kind of house-tower, located just a few steps from the nerve centers of the Eternal City. Just to give you an idea of the wealth of this family, consider that the Margani owned properties that reached as far as the nearby Via delle Botteghe Oscure. Or, again to try to grasp the influence and power of the Margani, consider that 3 members were conservators, that is, high magistrates of secular power in medieval Rome (the Palazzo dei Conservatori, home of the Capitoline Museums, is so named precisely for this reason). It is not surprising, then, that a family of such lineage made equally powerful enemies, so much so that they felt the need to protect their possessions with such a tower, which “appears” for the first time in a document dated 1272. Among the powerful enemies mentioned above, I cannot fail to mention the Santacroce, another noble family that had put down roots in Rome. The fifteenth century was a tough century for the Margani, as the feud that arose between the two families literally bloodied the city streets. Think of the atmosphere in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, just to give you an idea. And consider, for example, that in 1432 Pietro Margani, the most influential member of the family, was killed by a Santacroce. So let’s not be surprised if such a tower was financed. Safety above all. 

As often happens in Rome, medieval structures incorporate pre-existing buildings, or parts of them. Looking closely at the best-preserved side of the tower, you can immediately notice some marble friezes with natural decorations, which are certainly part of a much older building. The tower itself, after all, was erected by reusing a portico from Roman times. Just another way to recycle something from the past, and to save money and time. As you can see, then, even a tower today almost suffocated by more modern buildings, although we are in an area whose atmosphere is steeped in history, can have a thousand reasons for interest.