The tower gets its name from the voting practice of the Priors. They would pass around a cloth bag into which they could choose to place a chestnut to indicate approval of a motion. At the end of voting the chestnuts were counted and compared with the number of voters. This helped prevent pressure being placed on the Priors: it was a form of "free and fair" election.
In Tuscany, the chestnuts were called ballotte. And that's where we get the word ballot from. The essence of a ballot is that the person who gets elected is the one who can get the most nuts on their side.
Food for thought.
Oh, that old chestnut! X
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