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The Bell Tower in Peccioli was built in 1885 by the engineer and architect Luigi Bellincioni (1842 – 1929) from Pontedera, who also designed other seven bell towers spread in the Valdera and Val di Cecina areas.
The tower in Peccioli is the result of a renovation and elevation of a previous Pisan Romanesque tower. Completed in 1898 with an elevation of 42 meters, it is covered with a dark bush-hammered stone from the quarries of Montecatini Val di Cecina.
The bell tower can be divided into three parts: the lower one features an entrance door and two small doors that connect the bell tower to the rectory and the church; the central one, which is opened by 4 single-arched windows; the upper one, where four large motorized bells are located, featuring a helicoidal staircase, which leads to an octagonal terrace at the base of a pyramidal steeple, on which a gigantic copper sphere is surmounted by a wind vane.
The building, in a sort of “Moorish” style, stands in an unusual position in relation to the parish church; in fact, it is not located near the façade as usual but behind the apse, in such a way as to assume a frontal position right opposite Palazzo Pretorio. In this way the square becomes a real political and religious hub.
From the bell tower you can also enjoy a magnificent panoramic view.
Inside the tower is also one of the sound installations of Voci, a project based on listening to a story that can only happen in a specific place and under certain conditions.
