Bologna - From Tall Towers and Statues with Secrets

 

On a recent roadtrip to San Marino we passed Bologna, one of Italy’s largest cities and home to one of its most peculiar architectural features. Of course that was reason enough to take a small detour and spend a few hours in the city to document this special sight - in the process, we found another rather questionable historic remnant, read on to find out…

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Due Torri

The most prominent feature of the city are without a doubt The Two Towers, Asinelli and Garisenda, both leaning and named after the families that constructed them in the early 12th century.

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The larger of the two towers, Asinelli, is visible from many of the city’s streets at a height of almost 100m.

Towers of Bologna

The Two Towers are in fact not the only of the remaining skyline of ancient Bologna - there are over 20 left dotted across the city centre, some of them visible here in the upper part of the photo.

Leaning

The overhang of the taller tower is over 2m, making it lean visibly from the right angles. The Garisenda was lowered in the 14th century as it was at risk of toppling over due to the yielding ground. Restoration works are constantly ongoing.

Legacy

Architect Minoru Yamasaki is thought to have been inspired by the Towers when designing the World Trade Center in NYC.

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Take a flight around the towers.

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Medieval Skyscraper City

It is said there were around 100 of these towers, making Bologna the skyscraper centre of the 12th and 13th century - however, little documentation from the time exists that would tell the true number. The towers are said to have been built by the richest trading families in town as offensive / defensive structures,, and were later used as prisons, residential, and city towers, while many have been destroyed over the years.

Fame

The towers have made it into many works of literature, having been mentiond by Dante and Goethe.

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A Statue with a Secret

Not far from the towers and near the Basilica di San Petronio on the Piazza Maggiore you’ll find another oddity in the city - this time facing horizontal rather than vertical…

The Fountain of Neptune

When the statue of the god of the sea with his trident was constructed in the 16th century, the then Pope Pius IV, who commissioned it, was concerned by the size of the god's manliness, and instructed to reduce it accordingly.

A Different Angle

Of course the designer Giambologna had to oblige - but he found his own way to get the original vision realised, by putting Neptune's arm and hand at somewhat unusual angle, which makes more sense when viewing the fountain from a three quarter angle...

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There’s a lot more to see in the city, and a return is definitely on the cards the next time I’m in the Emilia-Romagna region.