It is making much discussion these days, in Vicopisano (Pisa), the affair of the sale of the Caprona Tower, also known as the Upezzinghi Tower, a nineteenth-century construction that reproduces the tower of the ancient medieval castle that stood on the rocky spur overlooking the Pisan plain and represents one of the historical symbols of the territory. Its fame is linked not only to its architectural and landscape value, but also to its literary appeal: in fact, Dante mentions it in the Divine Comedy, recalling the military action of 1289 in which the poet himself participated.
The tower, which is under cultural restriction for its historical and landscape significance, became part of a transfer of ownership that also includes nearby disused quarries. The historic owner family, the Conforti family, sold the area to the company “Vico ambiente” srl, which is active in quarry reclamation, aggregate processing and industrial waste management. The deed of sale, signed at the beginning of June, started the process required by the regulations for restricted property: from the moment of the communication to the Superintendence, the Ministry, the Region and the Municipality of Vicopisano, the public bodies have in fact sixty days to exercise the right of first refusal. The agreed price is 99,000 euros.
The Vicopisano City Council discussed the issue in the city council on August 13, at the urging of the minority group “Vicopisano of Change,” led by Councilman Roberto Orsolini. The request was to consider whether to exercise preemption, also in light of the symbolic value of the property. The administration, however, chose not to proceed. The memo circulated by the majority civic list “Vicopisano in Cammino” states that “first of all, its costs are not known in detail; securing and recovering it could have used too many resources even for the future of the municipal coffers. The purchase would have been irresponsible, given the scarcity of time and the complexity of the necessary assessments.” Mayor Matteo Ferrucci added that “the Municipality of Vicopisano already has a large historical heritage (67 properties between public and private) and we have already recovered numerous towers. Moreover, with limited public resources the priorities, in addition to the historical heritage, remain: schools, social, hydrogeological instability, fire prevention, maintenance and care of the territory, to ensure the safety of citizens.”
The choice has sparked political and cultural debate. While the municipality claims the pragmatism of the decision, oppositions and a part of the citizenry stress the risk that an asset of such value will end up managed according to private logic, which, however, is not always compatible with the public interest. The asset, it should be remembered, is not the original medieval tower, but a 19th-century reconstruction that in any case retains its role as a symbol of the area.
An additional element is the future use of the area. According to Il Tirreno newspaper, the purchasing company intends to use the disused quarries for consolidation operations with excavated materials, while the area closest to the tower could have a tourist-receptive development. The city administration has announced its intention to enter into an agreement with the new owners to ensure the public enhancement of the monument. The project includes environmental redevelopment of the area, safety interventions, and the possibility of making the tower accessible in appropriate conditions. In the case, the goal would be, the mayor said, “to improve the road system and parking spaces but also to build an amphitheater in the quarries for classical and opera performances, as well as to secure the part of the mountain and the precipice to make it accessible to visitors.”
However, the affair had crossed local borders and reached Parliament. Last August 6, MP Edoardo Ziello (League) had submitted a question to the ministers of Culture and Environment asking for clarification on the sale and urging a protection plan. The text of the parliamentary question points out that the area includes unremediated disused quarries and fears the risk of its use as a landfill for inert materials. Ziello also recalls the numerous accidents that have occurred in recent years, with multiple deaths from falls from heights in the absence of adequate safety measures. The question asks whether the protection procedures required by the regulations have been activated, what steps the Ministry of Culture intends to take to verify public preemption, and what measures the Ministry of the Environment will take to clean up the quarries and prevent new uses that are incompatible with the landscape context.
Indeed, the question of safety is another central issue. The tower has long been a hiking destination, but the area lacks adequate protection, and local news reports have recorded several cases of fatal accidents. The city administration, together with the Region of Tuscany and the University of Pisa, had already signed an agreement for the recovery and enhancement of the Upezzinghi Tower, recognizing the urgent need for action. Now the new ownership and the announced agreement will have to clarify when and how to ensure safe accessibility. The fate of the Caprona Tower thus remains tied to a complex balance between protection needs, economic constraints and prospects for tourism enhancement. The municipality’s waiver of preemption shifts the focus on the relationship between public and private, in an area with a strong symbolic and cultural value. The hope of the institutions is that the agreement will ensure that the Upezzinghi Tower can remain accessible to the community and an environmental redevelopment of the surrounding quarries.
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| Vicopisano, municipality will not buy Upezzinghi Tower: future to private parties |
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