Torre Apponale

The Torre Apponale stands on the east side of Piazza 3 Novembre in the old town of Riva del Garda, right by the city's old harbor. To the east of the tower is the Rocca, the water castle, and to the west is the Palazzo Pretorio. The tower was once part of the city fortifications, which lay within the city walls and had the specific task of protecting the harbor of Riva.
Source de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torre_Apponale

The tower was first mentioned in documents in 1220. In the 13th century, the construction of family towers as defensive and residential towers by wealthy families experienced a boom in connection with the loss of power of the central authorities and the independence efforts of the towns in Italy. At least two of these towers were also built in Riva by the Bonvicino and Bellastilla families, although construction had been restricted by both the Prince-Bishop of Trent and the Emperor.The investiture of the two families by Bishop Albert von Ravenstein in 1220 should also be seen in this context. Despite the orders of his predecessor Friedrich von Wangen, he did not have the two towers demolished, but instead secured free access to these towers for himself and his successors on the bishop's throne with this subsequent building permit decree.These privately built towers were subsequently regulated, for example in the municipal statutes of Riva from 1274, which set the maximum height, which suggests that there were more than these two towers known by name at the time. However, the Torre Apponale, built by the Bonvicino family, was not affected by these restrictions, as it was probably already owned by the bishop or the municipality at that time.[1]The Bonvicini tower was transformed from a private tower into a defensive tower for the defense of the port below, which later also took on civil functions. Documents show that in the 16th century the tower had a watchman who had to ring the bells when danger approached, and the municipal statutes of 1451 mention that it was used as a dungeon.The Torre Apponale was rebuilt several times and raised to 35 metres in 1555. The battlements and machicolations originally installed for defence were replaced by the structure with coupled columns and a bell tower that can still be seen today. During the First World War it served as an observation tower.[2][3]
Source de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torre_Apponale

The Torre Apponale has a square floor plan with a width of 7.5 metres. It is 35 metres high and built from humped blocks. The width of the walls is around 2 metres at the base of the tower and decreases towards the balustrade. Due to multiple reconstructions, the construction history of the tower can only be partially traced on the facade. At a height of around 22 metres, there are two tower clocks on the north-west and south-west sides. Above the clocks, at a height of around 30 metres, is the balustrade on which the bell cage with the coupled columns rests. Among other things, the bell cage contains the bell "La Renga", which was cast in 1532 and once served as an alarm bell for the city's residents.Until 1920, an onion dome adorned the roof. Today, the tower roof is decorated with the city's landmark, l'Anzolim, an angel made of gilded sheet metal blowing a trumpet.The tower has two entrances, one on the southwest side at the level of the square and one on the northwest side at a height of 5.50 meters. The latter was the original entrance, no longer used today, which was accessible via a wooden staircase that no longer exists, while the entrance at the level of the square was built later.[2]
Source de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torre_Apponale