Torre della Pagliazza (Straw Tower) Florence
The Pagliazza tower is located in the small Piazza Sant'Elisabetta, in the oldest part of central Florence . The origins of this structure, considered by many to be the oldest building in Florence that has maintained its original appearance, are uncertain, between the 6th and 7th centuries , although it rests on older foundations, from the Roman era.

During the excavations that took place during the last restoration it was discovered that the foundations of the building rested on a Roman building, the only one known to us in this part of the city. In fact, the tower rests on a circular wall that surrounded a swimming pool or a room of a thermal structure in Roman Florentia , the secondary baths (public or private?) after the main ones close to the Ponte Vecchio (today under via delle Terme ). Precisely this exedra structure, used as a base, is thought to have determined the unusual semicircular shape of the tower, an almost unique case in Florence, together with another partially preserved one near via delle Terme and perhaps belonging to the ancient caput aquae of the Roman aqueduct . the &quot;capaccio&quot;. The circular shape recalls those of the Roman walls and is quite rare in medieval times.

Excavations have brought to light the original brick floor and some ancient walls.

According to some theories, the tower was then raised by the Byzantines , when they entered the city during the Gothic war as part of the fortification of the smaller ring of walls (a wall whose real existence is still debated by archaeologists), according to other theories, by the Lombards century later, as a simple tower-house.

Today the tower and adjacent buildings house a hotel, even if the structure is owned by the National Insurance Institute , which has financed a process of restoration and enhancement of the structure considered by many to be exemplary, based on a project by the architect Italo Gamberini ( 1983 - 1988 ).

The restoration freed the tower from the structures that covered it from view from the street, making it look close to that in the 15th century , as documented by an illustration in the Codex Rustici , when some small shops were opened on the ground floor, after the cessation of used as a prison, while the upper floors were used as a home and warehouses. To show the archaeological finds from the excavations, a small museum has been set up at the base of the tower, which can be visited upon request.
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