The Borgognone tower is located on one of the sides of Piazza San Silvestro or Piazza del Gesù in Viterbo characterized by the church of the Gesù where in 1271 Guido de Monfort, cousin of King Edward of England, was killed.
The medieval towers of Viterbo date back to the 11th and 12th centuries when they were built to defend the San Pellegrino district, the heart of the city.
With the expansion of the city, especially during the period in which the papal court moved to Viterbo, some of these towers were incorporated into the houses, becoming a distinctive element of the importance of the family.
The Torre del Borgognone was located in the part of the city where justice was administered and is divided into 6 levels. These were probably built in different phases, some are in fact covered by wooden floors and others by brick barrel vaults.
Its name derives from the Burgondioni or Borgognoni family, whose members were also part of the city government.
At the foot of the tower we recognize a footprint by Messer Angelo Borgognone which was used as a measuring instrument for the lengths of Viterbo. A bit like today the Anglo-Saxon 'foot' still derives from the size of the foot of Charlemagne, so the Viterbo people used the foot of Borgognone as a yardstick.
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