Italian authorities close Bologna’s famous Leaning Tower to prevent possible collapse
The Garisenda Tower currently has a tilt of four degrees, compared to Italy’s other famous Leaning Tower in Pisa, which has a tilt of five degrees.
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The two towers in Bologna, Italy.
A historic landmark in Bologna, Italy, is currently closed to the public as the city fears it will collapse.
The Garisenda Tower, known as one of the city’s two towers, is at risk of collapse due to material decomposition at the base of its structure, according to the official Comune di Bologna website. The 158-foot-tall tower stands next to the Asinelli Tower, which is almost twice as tall at 318 feet and offers stunning views of the city from the top.
Both towers are closed to the public as the Garisenda Tower is being restored to prevent a possible collapse, while the Asinelli Tower is closed for maintenance.
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The historic towers rise high into the Bologna skyline.
According to CNN, an investigation in October confirmed that the stones used for the base were crumbling and the bricks above them were showing increasingly large cracks.
The outlet had previously reported that the site has been monitored since 2018 and the city installed acoustic sensors in October to record sounds of cracks and creaks. A pendulum was also installed in the Garisenda and Asinelli towers to monitor movement.
Compared to Italy’s other famous Leaning Tower in Pisa, which has a lean of five degrees, the Garisenda Tower currently has a lean of four degrees.
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On Friday, city officials announced that the project to restore the Garisenda Tower would cost about $4.7 million and that maintenance work would last until February, the Associated Press reported.
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Both towers were built between 1109 and 1119 and are named after families who lived in the city at the time. In the Middle Ages, families wanted to build the tallest towers in the city to show off their social status and wealth, according to the official website of the Bologna-Modena tourist area.
A total of 498 steps lead to the Asinelli Tower. The Garisenda Tower was once higher, but had to be lowered in the 14th century for fear of collapse. Its steepness was so great that Dante Alighieri wrote about it in his famous poem “Inferno”, which he completed in the early 14th century.
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