Characteristic of the historic center of Pavia is the presence of medieval noble towers that survive in its urban fabric, despite having once been more numerous, as evidenced by the sixteenth-century representation of the city frescoed in the church of San Teodoro.

[1] The first urban towers of Pavia are documented from the year 1018, also here as in much of northern Italy, well before the spread of the noble castles in the countryside, which makes us understand how the spread of these buildings was not dictated by urbanization of the aristocratic classes of the district in the city, but they were a city creation, influenced by the turreted residences of lay and ecclesiastical power, in turn inspired by the royal palaces (such as the Royal Palace of Pavia) of the Carolingian and Ottonian age.

[3] With the affirmation of the Visconti lordship during the fourteenth century, the symbolic value of the towers lost meaning, so much so that many of them were reduced in height, while the terminal part of others was transformed into a loggia.

[4] The impressive surviving noble towers are built on a massive foundation block, made up of river pebbles bound with mortar, even more than 2 meters high.

The openings of the towers are rare, in fact, in addition to the pontoon holes, only small single-lancet windows remain, while access was generally allowed through doors located on the upper floors and connected to the adjacent buildings.