Torre degli Ercolani

The Medieval Ercolani Tower belongs to the complex of Romanesque art which, along with the Palazzetto Longobardo, is the only citizen example of palacium-turris survived intact to this day. It was built between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries following the canons of noble towers that stood numerous in the city of Ascoli in that period. The building, with large blocks of travertine and reuse of Roman facade, grows to a height of 34.5 meters and rises from a square base. The front door has a triangular pediment cut a horizontal slit, decorative element rather recurrent in the building of noble towers stuffed, which is also found on the door of the St. Jhon's Baptistery: the significance attached to it is the call to the alchemical symbol of the air, as if to defy the elevation to the sky. As in the rocks, the Tower was designed to host defenses hoardings and gratings, used as a location of sighting and shooting, still visible today. The interior space is divided into three floors, each of which is covered by a barrel vault.