Demolition proposed for Rome's Torre dei Conti after collapse

Following a partial collapse that killed one worker and injured others, Massimiliano Tonelli argues in Artribune that the medieval Torre dei Conti in Rome should be demolished and replaced with a contemporary tower. The 1,000-year-old structure, located in the Imperial Fora, had been slated for restoration under the CARME project (designed by Walter Tocci) with €7 million in PNRR funding to become an observation tower with a rooftop café and exhibition spaces. During preliminary works, a buttress collapsed vertically, followed by the roof and several floors. Tonelli contends that restoration is too costly and risky, and that Rome has a history of demolishing and rebuilding—the tower itself was built over a Roman forum using spolia, and its materials were later used for Porta Pia. He proposes an international architecture competition for a new 60-meter tower (the original height that impressed Petrarch) containing a bookshop, services, exhibition halls, a documentation lab, and an observation deck with café offering unprecedented views of the Imperial Fora. The project would also redesign Largo Corrado Ricci. The main hall would be named after Ottavio Stroici, the worker who died under the rubble.