Correlated matters: The ancient Tower of the clock
The intervention of consolidation and restauration of the medieval boundaries of Ostuni and the palinsestis that they have taken the place of it along the centuries, have given birth to born a problem of big entity represented by the safeguard of the minute historical testimonies, what the mortars and the layers of mortar, entirely cancelled on a line of avenue Oronzo forty long more than a kilometer. The historical stories related to the construction of the ancient walls ostunesis postpone to the messapis, to the Byzantines, to the Norman ones, to the angioinis and the Aragonese ones. These last, probably after the 1456 earthquake, they strengthened the curtains and the towers of the preceding period and they widened toward midday the defensive perimeter. The Aragonese boundaries that encircled Ostuni along the southwest situated line were built in fact in the last years of Four hundred and in the first years of Five hundred on project compiled by architects of trust of king Alfonso of Aragon. They englobed the suburb said Cross of the Palms, the convent of the Franciscan conventual, the church of Ognissanti and numerous other buildings. In the new line of boundaries they were open two important doors towns: one was said door St. Francis, behind the convent of the conventual ones, or hands of Iuso and the other takings the name of door of the Bridge, surrounded to the sides from two imposing towers with in the mean a bridge drawbridge. The most greater tower has recently been brought to the light by the Archaeological Superintendence, busy to perform a country of excavations on the whole area of Plaza of the Liberty. The boundaries and the Aragonese towers were surrounded by deep ditches and to defend you there were troops that lodged in the military District, risen at the end of Five hundred, that entertained a body of cavalry and one of infantry. The city imposing system of defense began to be dismantled beginning from the first decades of the Seven hundred one, when the demografic increase and increases him requirement of new grounds edificabili, they determined an impetuous urban growth mostly warned in the second halves the century. To increase the incomes and to face the "hung universal", that is to the taxes, the city administrators began the thick apportionment of the boundaries and the ancient ditches provoking to a large extent the demolition of the ancient defensive structures and the inglobamento of the same in the new constructions. The 9 October of 1724, to the presence of the mayor of that year, the magnificent Anthony Anglani, and of the chosen, Mr. Francis Ayroldi and Mr. Nicola Maria Antelmi, city privacies were surrendered to almost all the grounds along the line of the ancient boundaries that raced from the Door of the Bridge up to the building of the Lopezes y Rojo. The actions of the censuazione are guarded near different Files of State among which that of Naples, of Lecce and of Brindisi. We have passed them in review in 1994 to date the bodies of factory that on the ancient building perimeter you/they were built. One of these actions of sale begin: " For it glorifies Universitate Ostunei contra magistrum Franciscum Antonium Colucci... Them magnificent sudetti general mayor and spontaneously elected they affirm to have, to hold and to possess the city sudetta as true lady and owner, correct title et bona faith, an earthy fund, fuora the door of the Bridge of palms twenty-four of width and of length palms twenty-six, together with other sought funds principiandi from the from behind the Door of the hand Bridge left in to go out, and they race wall wall toward low, frank. You/he/she is made him the aforesaid affirmation for them magnificent mayor chosen et them what considered avendono of the sudetto place they serve many without having for profit of it the city sudetta thing veruna... et having been them from many wanted the other ones I approach et condesceso said magnificent mayor and chosens farneli the concession and wanting the of it everything to reduce effect to the elegant et, sponte insolidum has given him/it and granted to edificandum et faciendam potecam for eius usu et profession...". The buyers of the other grounds were ledger Domenico Errico, ledger Anthony Erriquez, ledger Scipione Marraffa and ledger Francis Errico. In all the documents the exact location of the brings him "earthy fund": "... beginning of before the tower of left hand and it races toward the other opposite the house delli gentlemen Lopez wall wall... fuora the door of the Bridge to the left in to go out and continuing with from the tower toward low, wall wall..." In another rogito we find writing that in front of the mayor and to the chosen " six teachers have appeared, seù artists of it city to build six poteghes...". In fact the buyers were almost all blacksmiths and for this motive the before breadth was said wide ferrerie. In front of the new constructions, risen on the boundaries and on the ditches, there were the residences of the suburb Celso, or of the Solaro, risalenti to Five hundred. Of the line of the ancient boundaries one have survived of only the two towers that encircled the Door of the Bridge and it result in full currently englobed in a building of the first years of the Nine hundred turned to says public place "You Casba." The ancient specifications of contract related to the eighteenth-century constructions constitute a fundamental documentation to historically read the various palinsestis and the relative forms and building techniques used by the maestranzes of the time. To the capimastris the obligation was prescribed to plaster the residences and of scialbarle. He/she perfectly anchors today along the line of these preserved residences, we discover the historical characteristics that for a long time have characterized you and we gather the depth contrast among these and the residences skinned during the last jobs of restauration performed on the surrounded building. The modern renovators, in the respect of the history, they would be good for tener present similar data when they have called to operate interventions on the city buildings in first place not to distort the characteristics of the same and then to safeguard the minute historical testimonies that he/she anchors and fortunately they preserve.
-Other historical information on the plaza: THE CLOISTER -
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