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His Dark Materials

The Torre degli Angeli, also known as the Tower of the Angels, was a tower in Cittàgazze, home to a guild of the same name. It was here, on the roof of the tower, that Will Parry became the bearer of the subtle knife.

Location[]

The main enterance to the Tower of the Angels was located in a little square in Cittàgazze. There were half a dozen steps leading up to the main door which were deeply worn.[1] On the left and right of the tower were two cobbled alleys which led between the tower and other buildings.[2]

Description[]

The tower was one of the oldest buildings in Cittàgazze and was four stories high.[3] Beside the great oak door there were carvings of angels which were deeply worn.[1]

Basement[]

The basement stood at the bottom of a flight of steps leading down from the entrance hall. It was a wide, low-ceilinged room with a large coal furnace at one end around which the plaster on the walls was thick with soot.[2]

Entrance hall[]

Tower staircase

The staircase inside the tower

Inside was a dark stone-flagged hall with a staircase that led both up, to the higher levels of the tower, and one that led down to the basement.[2]

Garden[]

At the back of the tower was a small garden, enclosed by a high stone wall topped with broken glass. The garden contained a fountain around which was a bed of herbs.[2]

Roof[]

The roof could be accessed by a set of white painted stairs from the third floor. On the roof was a wood-and-glass structure like a greenhouse with a door that led out onto the lead-covered roof enclosed by a battlemented parapet. The lead sloped downwards to the parapet where there was a gutter.

Second floor room[]

This was a room on the second floor of the tower. It was a large room across the landing from the stairs where bookshelves lined the walls and the ceiling was covered in cobwebs.

Upper levels[]

Leading up from the entrance hall was a flight of blachened oak, thick stairs that went up into the upper levels of the tower. A deep-set window was located on each landing. Swords, spears and shields were hung on the walls. The top storey contained contained a set of white painted stairs that led up to the roof.[2]

History[]

The Guild of philosophers who inhabited the tower created Æsahættr. They used the knife to cut into other worlds, each time unknowingly creating a Spectre. The Spectres invaded Cittàgazze and the tower, just like the town, was abandoned. The subtle knife, which repelled Spectres, was kept in the tower by Giacomo Paradisi.[4][5][6]

Tullio, a teenage boy from Cittàgazze who could see the Spectres, took refuge in the tower. When Will and Lyra Silvertongue came to the tower, he was in a second floor room trying to use the subtle knife. He had kept Giacomo on the roof. Tullio came to take a look at the roof, where he had tied Giacomo and found that Will and Lyra had untied him. Will and him fought and, eventually, the knife claimed Will as its new bearer. Tullio, defeated, fled the tower and was attacked by Spectres. After Giacomo had shown Will how to use the knife and gone to drink some poison, Will and Lyra went away from the tower and so it was no longer a safe haven from the Spectres.[2]

Etymology[]

Torre degli Angeli is Italian for "tower of the angels."

Appearances[]

Nl 02
HDM Wiki has 5 images of the Torre degli Angeli.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 The Subtle Knife, Chapter 7
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 The Subtle Knife, Chapter 8
  3. The Subtle Knife, Chapter 3
  4. The Amber Spyglass, Chapter 10
  5. The Subtle Knife, Chapter 15
  6. The Subtle Knife, Chapter 16
World of Cittàgazze
Countries BeninBrasilCoreaEireland
Locations BergamoCittàgazzeCittàgazze caveSant'EliaUnidentified village
Buildings Belvedere towerCittàgazze caféTorre degli AngeliWhite villa
Natives AngelicaGiacomo ParadisiJoachim LorenzPaoloStriped T-shirt boyTullio
Important Guild of the Torre degli AngeliSpectresSubtle knife
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