The 2 Famous Bologna Towers
These two Bologna towers, or as the Italians call them Torri’s, are the symbol of Bologna and a landmark that stood out against the sky for those long ago who came from Ravenna and other towns. This Piazza di Porta was the point of arrival and departure for those in the past.
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Gary and I stayed a few days in Bologna and we knew we wanted to accomplish a few things during our stay here. Besides enjoying the amazing food, we knew we had to find the secret canals Bologna’s Secret Canals and to enjoy the beautiful, Bologna’s Porticoes. This town has so much to see, we vowed to return one day.
The Towers
The shorter tower is called Torri Garisenda and the taller, Torri Asinelli. The names come from the families that built them. They stand proudly in Piazza di Porta Ravegnana. An interesting fact, the Tower Garisenda leaned so much that is had to be partly demolished at about 39 feet (12 meters) and restarted. The drop or lean is about 3,4 meters. To get a good perspective, we took a photo of our guidebook below:
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- from our guidebook
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- poster in town
The Statue of San Petronio, patron Saint of Bologna stands in the square with the towers. These medieval structures are the few that remain in this city. At one time, they say that there could have been up to 180 towers here. During the 13th century, many towers were taken down or demolished, and others simply collapsed.
the busy city
Climb to the Top
It took us a while to climb the 498 steps to the top of the 295 foot tall Tower Asinelli. After a few stops to catch our breath – the views from the top were amazing and worth the climb!
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- the journey to the top
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- the staircase was amazing!
In Conclusion
When visiting Bologna, by all mean don’t miss the towers but there is so much else to enjoy in this beautiful city. Here are a few more things to consider putting on your itinerary. Visit Bologna
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in December 2016 and was updated in February 2020 for accuracy and additional information.
1 Comment
Gary Francis
February 13, 2020 at 11:38 pmWe’re off to Bologna in April and it’s our first time hence our research and how we found your article. Nice blog. Very envious of all your experiences.