Located in the historic center of Oristano, the San Cristoforo Tower, also known as Mariano II Tower or Porta Manna, was one of the city’s entrance gates in the medieval period. As attested by the inscription once placed on the tower and now preserved in the Antiquarium Arborense, it was built in 1290. Today it represents one of the few surviving elements of the city walls built by the Judge of Arborea Mariano II and is the symbolic building of the giudicale city. Constructed from sandstone and with a total height of 28 meters, it consists of two stacked bodies, both with a square base. The main body develops in a U shape with the open side facing the inside of the city, and consists of three floors stacked on top of each other. On the top floor rises a smaller battlemented turret, which houses a bell from 1430, among the largest existing on the island. The lower part of the tower opens into a full arch, which in turn opens into a smaller pointed arch. The name San Cristoforo Tower comes from the altarpiece of Saint Christopher, once kept inside the structure.
Information about San Cristoforo Tower
Piazza Roma,
09170 Oristano (Oristano)
0783 791262
nfo@antiquariumarborense.it
https://www.comune.oristano.it
Source: MIBACT
