‘A miracle and a warning’: Ancient tower collapse reveals a crisis facing modern Rome

Rome —

In video footage, it almost looks like an earthquake. The ancient Torre dei Conti, which has occupied a street corner of central Rome since medieval times, is suddenly enveloped in billowing clouds as falling bricks spew from a hole in its side. As more of its internal structure collapses, debris and dust shoot out from windows and openings, raining down on the street below.

“There was a loud explosion and then everything started falling — cement, rocks, people,” a waitress who was working nearby on the morning of November 3 told CNN. “Everyone started running away through the dust.” One worker involved in renovation work on the tower died and another was seriously injured in the incident, prompting a criminal investigation for negligence.

Two weeks after the partial coll