12- Tower, Roman Bridge and Paper Mill
Tower and the Museum of Architecture
The bridge that crosses the Metauro river, considered to be from the Roman era, and the Tower which is 24 meters high are strictly connected and they constitute a single monumental complex.
The building technique is similar: the structure of the three arches of the bridge was built with little stone blocks arranged in low rows; the visible bricks are the result of subsequent restorations. The function of the tower has changed over time. The primary role was defense, probably with a role of control of the medieval viability: of the important ford of the Metauro, of the toll station as well as defense of the town. Under the Montefeltro there was the house of the captain of the Castle. On the 11th of November 1418 it was the place where the council of the castle of Fermignano and of the surrounding villas gathered. In 1507 the duchess Elisabetta Gonzaga, in a time of economic difficulty for the court, sold the tower for 50 florins to the lawyer Piermatteo Pini, who belonged to a family of jurists and writers that has given its name to the district “Cal Pini” (today Calpino) where they have some properties. In 1871 the tower, together with the paper mill and the mill, it was sold to the noble Albani family of Pesaro. In 1914 the properties were bought by the Carotti family that installed a woolen mill and a silk factory in the buildings of the paper mill. From the 7th of November 1995 the tower is property of the Municipality of Fermignano.
Next to the tower there is a roman door that opened the way to Rome; it was demolished in 1870. Until the 19th century we have to imagine it surrounded by houses, whereas today there is a lot of more space around this tower.
At the bottom of the tower there is the public fountain called “Mascherone” built in 1886.
In the middle of the bridge there is an erected aedicule, probably because of an intervention carried out on the bridge itself during the second half of the 15th century as a wish of Federico da Montefeltro and under the management of Francesco Giorgio. Inside the aedicule you can admire a Madonna with the Baby of the late fifteenth century.
Today the tower is the headquarters of the Museum of Architecture.
The Museum of Architecture is dedicated to the great architect Donato Bramante born in 1444 in Monte Asdrualdo next to Fermignano and inside the Complex of the Medieval Tower it is possible to admire an exhibition of wooden models, photographic reproductions of the works of Bramante and projects of many architects that thanks to their work indicate new perspectives for the redevelopment of the town and the territory.
It is possible to visit the Medieval Tower on reservation by contacting the tourist office, but is also possible to have a 360 degrees view from this page of Almaloci's Blog.