The Tower of the Sun
Image: Wikimedia Commons
The Tower of the Sun, known in Italian as La Torre del Sole, is an astronomy park in Brembate di Sopra, Italy, built inside a striking piece of repurposed industrial architecture.
About The Tower of the Sun
The park occupies a former municipal water tower dating from the 1960s, converted starting in 2003 and inaugurated as an astronomy park on 29 March 2008. It is regarded as one of the best-equipped astronomy parks in Italy.
Telescopes & research
Facilities include an 8-metre digital planetarium seating 52 people, a refractor telescope, a heliostat for solar observation, a 120-seat media room, and an astro-shop. Guided tours take visitors through the planetarium, a sun laboratory, the observatory itself, and an aerial walkway with views stretching some 20 kilometres.
Location & getting there
The Tower of the Sun stands in Brembate di Sopra, in the Bergamo province of northern Italy.
Visiting The Tower of the Sun
The site is open to the public with an admission fee and offers limited wheelchair access; guided tours, night observation sessions, and special events run regularly - check the official website or call ahead for current hours and tour bookings.
See your named star from here
A former water tower turned solar observatory and planetarium is a memorable place to picture a star's coordinates. If you've named a star, its RA/Dec can be located from sites like this - see the catalogue.
Opening hours and public-visit programs vary by season. Check the official website and Google Maps for current times before you travel.
Partially wheelchair accessible
