In May 2024 Claudio Marchetti He fulfilled his dream of completing a majestic work, for which he worked tirelessly for 18 months. He combined his technical knowledge and his self-taught soul to build with his own hands a Eiffel Tower replica in the town of Aliciaprovince of Córdoba. In total he did 86 pieces bolted, in an artisanal way, and required 10 tons of iron to reach 31.6 meters high. Until now it remained on display in the yard of his houseand more than 7,000 people have visited it since it was completed, but recently it accepted the proposal of a real estate entrepreneur and sold his precious creation. “The time has come to release this project, and despite everything I am happy, because many families are going to enjoy it and that was the main objective,” Marchetti tells Infobae. The new destination will be Siquiman Park Villaon the side of National Route 38, and will be part of a tourist proposal with a regional shopping center.
His calculations were correct, and in just a day and a half achieved the objective of disarming it to start the transfer. It is a four-hour trip to the brand new headquarters of the Alicia Tower. “I admit that between bolt and bolt there were several of my tearsbut I prefer to have a sad heart for 10 days than a lifetime, and there is no turning back,” says Claudio, who defines himself as “a simple worker.” He studied until primary school, he could not complete secondary school because he had to work, and for many years he has been dedicated to carpentry.
He started helping his father in warehouses and knows metal structures because there were times when he worked at 120 meters high. He also works as an electrical industrial technician, so his perseverance and the knowledge he accumulated were the bases for him to dare, nothing more and nothing less, than to build his own version of the emblematic monument of the capital of France.
The process entailed many challenges, from the inclement weather, the physical effort to place each of the 8000 cuts assembled by handand it required a lot of creativity to overcome the difficulties. He moved everything without cranes, with a pulley system that he invented himself with steel cables, and no one helped him, not even passing him a screw, because his idea was do it all alonejust as he proposed from day one. “I wanted it to be the only one in a private courtyardand it was a decision I made because the other replicas, of which there are three on the continent, were assembled by companies and cranes; On the other hand, not here, I was the one who risked my lifeand I had to face many fears to do it,” he confesses, and says that he lost five kilos due to the leg strength he gained every time he climbed higher and higher.
He named it after his town – which for these reasons begins with “A”, the letter that inspires the shape of the structure – because part of his dream was for it to be displayed in some public place in the town, but since that was not gave, over time he began to consider the hundreds of proposals that came to him. They even offered to move it beyond the border, to neighboring countries, but Claudio did not lose hope that the replica would shine in the same place where it was created. “I got tired of waiting, that’s the truth, because I even offered to donate it to be a tourist attraction in Alicia, and since I never had a good response about it, I decided to sell it,” he confesses. “And I also became very fond of it, I was already used to getting up and seeing her, to having some mates in the morning and seeing her so pretty, silvered by the sun, in the patio of my house,” he adds.
The support of his wife, his daughters and his beloved granddaughter, who grew up alongside the tower, was essential at all times. “They always accompanied me and also began to suffer with me because things did not go as we expected, and then the new owner showed up, who treated me so well and proposed that I be in a place as beautiful as Villa Parque Síquiman, which I accepted” , he maintains. Refers to Hector Vallejowho also spoke with this medium and told what plans he has for the Cordoba version of the Eiffel Tower.
“I have a project for a gated community in full development, and I felt that the place was missing something, that would position it and give it identity, and I already knew the work that Claudio did, that He is an incredible person, with a humility greater than his work.and who does genius things like this,” he details with admiration.
“One day he posted on Facebook that the tower was for sale, but when I was going to write to him I found that he had deleted the post because he had regretted it,” he reveals. He decided to go in person to chat with him and tell him his idea. “I made the formal offer and understood that The sentimental value mattered much more to him than the economic value.and we agreed on everything that seemed important to him, such as don’t change the name“Let it always be the Alicia Tower because that is where it was born,” he remarks. Both agree that the days that followed were dizzying, because they began to work against the clock on a disassembly and transfer plan, motivated by the goal of a grand opening that would take place in Three Kings Evethe first week of January 2025.
“We immediately understood each other, and it is now completely disassembled, concentrating on the entire operational part and loading what is left to carry it,” they say enthusiastically. They really worked as a team, and they agree on where to place it. “It is an ambitious project that must be taken care of, because the gated community complex is already very advanced, and we plan to dedicate the tower 5000 meters of land so that it stands out visually and modifies the appearance of Villa Parque Síquiman,” Vallejo projects. And he adds: “The idea is that it has a beautiful flower arrangement, with lighting, gardens around like the originalan excellent landscape and a shopping center of 14 regional venues”.
Claudio says that since he published the news on his social networks, he began to receive messages from actors who want to attend the launch, because the tower will be just 10 kilometers from Carlos Pazwhere like every year, there will be a theater season. “They are happy because it will also boost tourism, and I have faith that we will arrive safely to Reyes, because we already dismantled it in less than two days, and I believe that in four it will be put back together, because all the pieces are numbered ”, indicates the self-taught person.
Héctor, for his part, as the new owner, is also convinced that it will be an ambitious bet, which will require effort and precise coordination, but he trusts in the soil studies they did and that the weather is favorable. “Another thing we talked about with Claudio was the idea of charge an accessible ticketso that everyone who wants can visit and enjoy it, because that’s how it was designed, for family enjoyment,” he says. “We hope that many people come, because in Córdoba it is no longer just a two-month season; Many people also come on long weekends, because it is a prolific and growing tourism,” he celebrates. The location is promising: it will be on the side of National Route 38, where they pass 3 million cars per yearand in terms of landscape, Villa Parque Síquiman is the town in Cordoba with the most lake coast, characterized by its limpid and refreshing air, surrounded by nature and tranquility.
“There are no buildings, they are all low houses, so the Alicia Tower is going to stand out and will change the view of those who go along the route at least.” over 2 kilometers, it’s going to be a real perlite and will generate job for the local population of Síquiman,” projects the 63-year-old real estate entrepreneur. With a mix of emotion and uncertainty, Claudio is already thinking about his future, because there is no doubt that there will be a great void in the patio of his house, and in his heart. A giant leaves, and he dreams of another. “I have another project in mind that is also going to be unpublishedit is something that I believe does not exist because I investigated it and until now I did not see that it existed in the world,” he says between mystery and genuine enthusiasm. And he reveals: “It’s something a little strange, and it’s not like I’ve already decided to do it, but I’m doing the math. I would like to build a giant chairtaking advantage of the bases of the tower that I will have left; it would be a chair 14 meters high”.
Another idea he is considering is going to live in Síquiman, having a place there where he can continue building things and let his creativity flow, but he has not made the decision yet. “First I have to complete this stage, put the tower back together, and then I will see what I do with my life,” he says. His soul as an inventor has much more to give, and at 58 years old he never ceases to surprise with each of his ideas.
