The square surrounding Bologna’s medieval “leaning tower” is to be closed off for “a few years” amid concerns that the 12th-century structure is tilting a little too precariously.
The Italian city’s mayor, Matteo Lepore, said the closure of Piazza di Porta Ravegnana was necessary in order to “save” the Garisenda tower. “We’re not intervening because we think it could collapse at any moment, we’re intervening because we want to make it safe and restore it,” he said.
The fate of the 48-metre-high Garisenda, which sits alongside the twice-as-high Asinelli tower, has been a topic of much discussion in the Emilia-Romagna city after scientists from the University of Bologna detected an anomalous increase in the tower’s oscillation.
The Garisenda, which left Charles Dickens spellbound during a visit to Bologna, slants at 4 degrees, compared with 3.9 degrees for Italy’s more famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. The slant is believed to be due to ground subsidence during the 14th century.
The tower is being monitored for cracks and sensors have been installed to track any shifting. Its foundations will be shored up with new materials to make the structure more secure. The Asinelli tower, which visitors are allowed to climb, has also been closed.
Bologna council is establishing a special committee to oversee the Garisenda’s restoration. “I will seek the best possible professionalism, nationally and internationally … we will look for anyone who can help us,” Lepore said.
But while the mayor has struck a reassuring tone, others from Bologna fear the tower could collapse.
“I am afraid to think about losing something that is part of the city’s soul,” Carlo Lucarelli, an author and screenwriter, told Corriere della Sera. “I’ve always taken the two towers for granted, but with affection, in the same way you might take the presence of a brother for granted.”
Giorgio Diritti, an actor and film director, said: “I’m worried from many perspectives, especially the fact that this news has come as a surprise. But how can it be a surprise if the tower has been monitored for years?” Diritti added that, if it came to it, he would be ready to go there “to hold the tower up”.
Pier Ferdinando Casini, a senator, was more optimistic. “The Garisenda has passed the test over hundreds of years and will overcome this misadventure too.”
The Garisenda and Asinelli towers are named after the rival families who built them, believed to be as a way to compete over their power and wealth, and are located at what was the entrance to the city. The Garisenda was originally 60 metres tall but had to be lowered after it began to lean.
The tower was cited several times in Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy and Le Rime, and Dickens wrote about it in his Pictures from Italy. The Garisenda was also referred to in Goethe’s Italian Journey.
