Rome: worker trapped and one injured after part of medieval tower collapses

A medieval tower in central Rome has partly collapsed twice during renovations, injuring one worker and trapping another.

Falling debris from the initial collapse of the Torre dei Conti, just after 11.30am (0930 GMT), close to the Roman Forum ruins, hit a 64-year-old worker, the Ansa news agency reported. He was taken to San Giovanni hospital in a critical condition although Francesco Rocca, Lazio’s regional president, said his injuries were not life threatening.

With hundreds of tourists and passersby looking on, firefighters rescued three other workers from scaffolding on the 29-metre high tower. During the operation, at about 1pm, an internal section of the tower collapsed, leaving one worker trapped on an upper floor.

Witnesses reported hearing a loud bang and seeing clouds of dust. One told Corriere della Sera: “I saw a worker fall.”

The area of the Forum and Piazza Venezia, which is continuously packed with tourists and traffic, has been cordoned off. The mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, and Italy’s culture minister, Alessandro Giuli, were at the scene.

The Torre dei Conti was built in 1238 by Richard Conti, brother of Pope Innocent III ,as a fortified residence for his family. It was damaged in an earthquake in 1349 and suffered collapses in the 17th century.

The restoration works are being financed by funds from the EU’s post-pandemic recovery fund.