Bologna Two Towers

About the Two Towers

Bologna is a medieval university city in northern Italy, instantly recognized by its iconic Due Torri — the Two Towers of Asinelli and Garisenda. Built in the 12th century by rival noble families competing for prestige, the taller Torre degli Asinelli rises 97 meters while the shorter Torre Garisenda leans at a dramatic four-degree angle. Once part of a skyline bristling with over 100 towers, these two survivors have become Bologna's most beloved symbol and an enduring testament to medieval ambition.

Standing side by side at the meeting of Bologna's medieval trade routes, the Asinelli and Garisenda towers survive from the early twelfth century, when the city's noble families raised scores of such structures; tradition names the Asinelli and Garisenda families as their builders, though that attribution is not firmly documented. The taller Asinelli reaches roughly 97 metres, while the Garisenda was shortened in the fourteenth century after its foundations shifted, leaving the pronounced lean Dante described in the Inferno. Together they became the remnant emblem of what was once called the city of towers, appearing on civic imagery and tourist itineraries. Concerns over the Garisenda's stability led to the area being fenced off in 2023 for monitoring and consolidation work.