Places of Interest nearby
Location address: Italia, Bologna, Bologna
Number of texts: 3
The highets tower of the Two towers was used by the scientists Giovanni Battista Riccioli (in 1640) and Giovanni Battista Guglielmini (in the following century) for experiments to study the motion of heavy bodies and the earth rotation. In World War II, between 1943 and 1945, it was used as a sight post. The Two Towers, both of them leaning, are the symbol of the city of Bologna. They are located at the intersection of the roads that lead to the five gates of the old ring wall (mura dei torresotti). Their construction probably took place between 1109 and 1119. It is believed that the tallest tower initially had a height of ca. 70 m and was raised only later to the current 97.2 m (with an overhanging rock of 2.2 m). In the 14th century the city became its owner and used it as prison and small stronghold.
The Two Towers, both of them leaning, are the symbol of Bologna, Italy, and the most promient of the Towers of Bologna. They are located at the intersection of the roads that lead to the five gates of the old ring wall (mura dei torresotti). The taller one is called the Asinelli while the smaller but more leaning tower is called the Garisenda. Their names derive from the families which are traditionally credited for their construction between 1109 and 1119. However, the scarcity of documents from this early period makes this in reality rather uncertain. The name of the Asinelli family, for example, is documented for the first time actually only in 1185, almost 70 years after the presumed construction of the tower which is attributed to them.
The Towers of Bologna are a group of medieval structures in Bologna, Italy. The two most prominent ones, known as the Two Towers, are the landmark of the city.