One of the peculiarities of the “Torre del Marzocco” is that it is a tower of the winds. On each corner of the octagonal balcony there is clearly written the pertinent wind, in this case “Tramontana” from north and “Maestro”, Mistral from north-east.
On the other side we have “Gherbino” from south-west, now better known as “Libeccio”, and “Mezodì” (Ostro from south). The four winds with the hidden names are: “Ponente” (Poniente from west), “Iscilocho” (Sirocco from south-east), “Levante” (Levanter from east) and “Grecho” (Gregale from north-east).Some metal stitches from a previous restoration to keep the stone covering in place, are clearly visible on the middle corner.
The shape of the Marzocco tower and the wind naming scheme were probably inspired by the Athenian Tower of the Winds, where the winds are represented by friezes on the sides.In the Greek version we can see “Zephyros” (Poniente from west), “Lips” (Libeccio from south-west) and “Notos” (Ostro from south) as bas-reliefs.
The Marzocco tower is also adorned with Florence's communal symbols: the Lily, the Cross of the People, the Shield crossed with “Libertas” and the Guelph eagle.
In another old postcard the Marzocco tower is seen in background from the mainland, with another tower in foreground.
This other tower is not the “Torraccia” (Bad Tower), as stated on the card, but the “Torre del Magnale” (from the Latin for great, “magna”). It was built between 1154 and 1163 by the Pisans to defend what was then their port. The tower was damaged in the last war and demolished.See also: Torre del Marzocco - Cranes
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