The medieval tower of Garisenda in Italy was closed to visitors due to the threat of collapse
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The medieval tower of Garisenda in the Italian city of Bologna has been closed to visitors due to fears of the authorities that it may collapse.
The Bologna city council said that “the situation is critical”, the BBC and The Guardian write.
Built 900 years ago, the 47-meter tower of Garisenda leans at an angle of 4 degrees. The authorities have already started building a 5-meter barrier around it in case of a possible collapse. Metal nets will be installed around the tower.
Italy’s deputy culture minister, Lucia Borgonzoni, announced that the government would fund the tower’s strengthening work with around €5m (£4.3m) from Italy’s EU National Recovery Fund.
| Photo: citylights/Depositphotos |
The Asinelli tower, which is built next to Garisenda, is about twice as tall and also leans, although not as critically, so it is open to tourists.
The cult towers are barely younger than the University of Bologna itself, an educational institution founded in 1088.
The Garisenda site was first closed in October after sensors detected changes in the tower’s tilt. Garisenda leans at an angle of 4 degrees, compared to 3.9 degrees for the more famous Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy.
The mayor of the city, Matteo Lepore, noted that the Garisenda tower suffered additional damage during the medieval era, when iron and bread ovens were built inside it.
He appealed to the government to make the towers UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The towers of Garisend and Azinelli are named after the rival families who built them, it is believed that this was a way of competing for their power and wealth.
Initially, Garisenda had a height of 60 meters, but as early as the 14th century, it had to be reduced after it had already begun to lean.
Read also: On the Kyiv “Richard’s Castle” in Podil, they began to build a superstructure
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