When the Eiffel Tower was built it was much discussed and some even called it “a scaffolding made of bars and angle iron, devoid of any artistic sense”. Over the years, however, it has become the symbol of Paris itself. Who knows, perhaps something similar could also happen, on a smaller scale, to the stylized Eiffel Tower that was placed in front of the Palazzo dei Mercanti in Piacenza on the occasion of the start of the third stage of the Tour de France. Appreciated by some, criticized by others, the six-meter-high metal structure was photographed by hundreds of tourists and Piacenza residents, so much so that it became the protagonist of numerous posts on social media. Now it is preparing for a second life. Dismantled from Piazza Cavalli, the tower was transported this morning to the Confcommercio Piacenza parking lot in Strada Bobbiese where it will remain stored pending a possible definitive location. The idea of celebrating the Grande Boucle with a sculpture inspired by the Parisian tower was the Piacenza Bakers’ Association, which commissioned it from a blacksmith in the province, taking full responsibility for the costs. “We never thought of making an identical copy of the Eiffel Tower – explains Alberto Sala, president of the association – but of taking inspiration from it to create an artifact that evokes it and that in the future can become a permanent memory of this unique and probably unrepeatable day. For this reason, we would like to donate it to the city”. “As Confcommercio Piacenza – explains president Raffaele Chiappa – we are very satisfied with how this Piacenza stage of the Tour de France went and we hope that the event can “lead the way” to a strong tourist development of our province, whose beauties ended up on world television, proposed to millions of viewers. So a mini-tower to remember this moment is very welcome. After all, the Eiffel itself was the symbol of an event, the Universal Exhibition of 1889. We are happy to host it while waiting for it to find a “permanent home” and … we hope it brings us the same luck that the original brought to Paris».
