Bologna: The Two Towers (Due Torri)
Bologna's center is unmistakeably the Two Towers, the tallest and most visually striking structures in the entire city of Bologna (even if the churches and cathedrals surpass them in elegance). In the 12th and 13th centuries, the wealthy families of Bolognese merchants built towers as a display of their financial prowess. The walled city of Bologna was a veritable forest of pinnacled structures that dominated the roof line. The remnants of several dozen remain, but only "Le Due Torri" stand significantly above the rest of the city.
Initiated in 1109 and completed in 1119 by the Asinelli family, the Torre Asinelli is 97.20 meters high with a lean of nearly two meters. 498 steps lead up to the top, where the view of Bologna and the rolling hillsides to the south is unforgettable.
Torre Asinelli (The Asinelli Tower, to the right)
Initiated in 1109 and completed in 1119 by the Asinelli family, the Torre Asinelli is 97.20 meters high with a lean of nearly two meters. 498 steps lead up to the top, where the view of Bologna and the rolling hillsides to the south is unforgettable.
Torre Garisenda (The Garisenda Tower, to the left)
Erected at the same time as the Asinelli Tower by Filippo and Oddo Garisendi, construction ceased in 1119, when the soft foundation had already begun to sink. Giovanni da Aleggio ordered it be reduced to around 60 meters in height in the year 1360 in fear that it would topple over.
Background info on Le Due Torri courtesy of "Guida Turistica di Bologna." Studio F.M.B. Bologna, a cura di Franco Saltarelli.
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