Two Towers, Bologna

About this place

The Two Towers, both leaning, are symbols of Bologna, Italy, and the most prominent 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. The taller one is the Asinelli; the smaller, with a greater lean, is the Garisenda. They are named for the families which are traditionally credited with having constructed them between 1109 and 1119. Their construction may have been a competition between the two families to show which was the more powerful, but the scarcity of documents from this period makes this uncertain. The name of the Asinelli family, for example, is documented for the first time in 1185, almost 70 years after the presumed construction of the tower. Begin with the overall setting, then look more closely at the details described in the site history. This connects the monument with the city around it and helps distinguish its original purpose from the meanings it acquired in later generations.