Difesa notte e giorno dalle sentinelle, la struttura simbolo del comune di Fossato di Vico faceva in realtà parte di un più complesso sistema di piazza fortificata: secondo i documenti gli edifici di fronte erano a loro volta torri con altri due archi di entrata, collegate da tratti murari, così da venire a creare una particolare "anticamera" tale da permettere il facile controllo di chi avesse voluto accedere al borgo, o la più facile difesa in caso di assedio. Nel Duecento, epoca in cui viene eretta, la bertesca era sguarnita di merlature ma era collegata all'alloggio del custode, che insisteva dove oggi risiede il Municipio; verrà tolta e sostituita dai merli solo nel ‘900.
ENG
MUNICIPAL BUILDING TOWER
The imposing defensive structure was only one of the 14 towers that surrounded the ancient castle. Defending night and day from the sentinels, the symbolic structure of the municipality of Fossato di Vico was actually part of a more complex system of fortified squares. According to the documents, the buildings opposite were also towers with two other entrance arches that, connected by wall sections, created a particular "antechamber" to allow easy control of those who wanted to enter the village, or the easiest defence in case of siege. In the thirteenth century, the period in which it was built, the brattice was without crenellation and it was connected to the caretaker's lodgings, that were located in the current Town Hall premises. The brattice will be removed and replaced by crenellation only in the 1900s.
