Paul Flora - Glorenza Church Tower

Glorenza in the Val Venosta valley is not only the smallest town in the Southern Alps, but also has a famous citizen: Paul Flora, who was born in Glorenza on June 29, 1922 and became famous for his drawings and book illustrations. Paul Flora also worked for 25 years as a caricaturist for the weekly newspaper "Die Zeit" and created stage designs throughout the German-speaking world, such as those for "Amphitryon" (Kleist) at the Akademietheater in Vienna (1963) and for "The King Dies" (Ionesco) at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg (1998).

Although Paul Flora left Glorenza as a child and grew up in North Tyrol, he always remained close to his hometown and found his final resting place here in 2009. Since 2011 his life and work have been presented in a unique ambience: in the Church Tower - "Kirchtorturm" in German, "Torre della Chiesa" in Italian -, also called Tubre Gate Tower, part of the medieval town wall of Glorenza. This still completely preserved wall with its imposing gates and defence towers was built by Emperor Maximilian I in the 16th century as a 10 m high bulwark. The permanent exhibition "Paul Flora - Life and Works" shows you 60 of his creations, as well as several photographs of the artist, who was famous throughout Europe for his subtle paintings.

A few minutes' walk from the Glorenza Church Tower is the restored town mill with its working mill wheel and remains of a fresco depicting the millers' guild sign (two lions with a mill wheel). And how to reach the tower? It is located near the town square next to the Adige river, where also the bus stops. There is a large car park (chargeable) outside the town walls.