As I mentioned in our Verona post, I can't resist climbing a tower to see the views, and the Asinelli Tower in Bologna was calling to me. Bologna has fewer than 20 towers now, but back in the 12th and 13th centuries, it had more than 100, which must have made for quite a crowded skyline. Apparently, rich families built towers for safety reasons and to demonstrate their prestige. Most of the towers were taken down or demolished, while other collapsed.
The Asinelli and Garisenda towers, Le Due Torri (the two towers), have become the symbol of Bologna.
The two towers are easy to spot from all over and they are located right in the middle of town. Both were built between 1109 and 1119. It is quickly apparent that both towers are leaning, Garisenda far more than Asinelli. We thought Italy had only one leaning tower (in Pisa), but apparently not. As we noted in our Modena post, we saw several others in our travels in the Bologna area.
Garisenda had to be lowered in the 14th century from approximately 60 meters high to its current height of 48 meters as the ground settled and it became dangerous. The tower is mentioned more than once in Dante’s Divine Comedy.
Asinelli is the tallest leaning medieval tower in the world (97.2 meters high) and you can climb up its 498-step inner staircase. There’s no elevator option here. For a mere 5 euro you can climb with about 30 of your newest friends. (Groups go up every 45 minutes.) This is the way to see Bologna:
As you can see, the views are marvelous, and you can see some of the other remaining towers, as well as all of Bologna’s other landmarks:
You can also see why Bologna is nick-named "The Red," after all of its red brick buildings. (Also for its communist political influence before and after WWII.)
Another (desperately needed) opportunity to work off the pasta and gelato calories that was worth every step.
Ciao,
Shana & Jeff
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