A peculiar prison!

In the Medieval time it was not so easy to live in Florence. The city was like a "Medieval Manhattan". In that period there was circa 150 towers in Florence where important families lived and rising above the city as a symbol of power. One of these towers in particular was not built for a family but it was very very old.

The Pagliazza Tower (Straw Tower)

This tower was the so called "Pagliazza Tower" built out of stone and breaks and located in the small and beautiful Sant'Elisabetta square. Unlike the others, the Pagliazza Tower is the only one that has an elliptical shape. This building is older that the others, in fact it belonged to the old city wall of Florence, dating back to the Byzantine Age. Today is part of a very precious hotel, the "Brunelleschi Hotel". What is very curious is the fact that it owes its name to the destination wanted by the florentines. The word paglia means in the Italian language straw. In fact in the XIII century the tower became a prison. At the beginning it was a male prison but later in 1285 it was changed into an all-women prison. Unlike the male inmates, who had to sleep on the floor of their cells, the women got to sleep o mattresses made out of straw!

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