The open space on the via Emilia°° just under where the Ghirlandina tower stands, is called Piazza Torre, the best place to admire the splendour of the monument.
In the centre, the statue of the great Modenese poet Alessandro Tassoni (1565-1635) was carried out by Cavazza in 1860. Tassoni is the well-known author of the mock-heroic poem La secchia rapita (that is The stolen bucket), recounting the story of the war fought against Bologna in the XIV century.
On the wall of the Ghirlandina, is the Partisan Memorial: with photos of the Modenese who died in the Resistance movement during the Second World War, whose sacrifice awarded the town the gold medal for military valour, in 1947.
On the top, another plaque to the Italian Risorgimento (the banishment of the Austro-Estense Dukes, the plebiscites for the Unification and the visit of the first King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II of Savoy).
On the wall of the town hall are another two plaques. The first is dedicated to the Italian Military Internee during World War II. The second to the genial editor Angelo Fortunato Formiggini (creator of the ‘Laugh series’): protesting against the racial anti-Semitic laws, he threw himself from the tower, on 29 november 1938. The name he bitterly chose to give to the spot where he fell is tvajol ed furmajin, which in the Modenese dialect means ‘cheese cloth’, referring to his surname.
