PIAZZA DUOMO, Part 2

On the eastern side of the square is the imposing Civic Tower and the adjacent Palazzo Pretorio, testifying to the city’s glorious medieval past.

With a height of 41 meters, the Civic Tower rises in the Trento skyline, at the point occupied in Roman times by Porta Veronese, the main gateway into the city.

Built as a bishop’s residence in the second half of the 12th century, the Civic Tower did not reach its current height until the second half of the following century, when a further 15 meters were added to it. At the beginning of the 14th century, it became the property of the Municipality, which had two bells installed at the top, joined in 1448 by a mechanical clock, while the inside of the tower was used as a prison.

In 1789, the two bells were replaced by a larger bell known as the Renga bell; the name derives from the term arenga, or citizens’ assembly, because it was rung only when the local citizens gathered here, or for death sentences carried out in the square....