Torre delle Milizie
Medieval Italian towers began as the fortification of the homes of the elite. By the 12th century the nobles of a politically turbulent Rome were living in entirely fortified and defensible compounds. While not always entirely contiguous pieces of city; the loose groupings of homes, workshops and storage buildings would cluster around one or two towers to form the stronghold of a family’s power base.
Image: Torre delle Milizie between 1890-1901 - BSR Photographic Archive, Peter Paul Mackey Collection, ppm-1244
