- 97metersTorre degli Asinelli
- 48metersthe Garisenda, cut down in the 1300s
- ~500stepsthe wooden stair inside the Asinelli
- ~20towersstill standing in the city
01What they are
Le Due Torri stand together where the old roads out of the city met, at Porta Ravegnana. The taller is the Torre degli Asinelli, about 97 meters high and built in the early twelfth century. The shorter, the Garisenda, is about 48 meters and leans visibly.
In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries Bologna's leading families built towers as fortresses and as boasts, and the city had dozens of them. Around twenty still stand, most hidden among later buildings — see towers and gates.
02Why the Garisenda is short
The Garisenda was built taller. The ground beneath it began to give way, and in the fourteenth century it was cut down to reduce the load — which is why it now looks like a stump beside its neighbor.
Dante saw it lean. In the Inferno he compares a stooping giant to the Garisenda seen from below as a cloud drifts over it, when the tower seems to fall towards you. Stand at its foot on a windy day and you will know exactly what he meant.
03Before you plan a climb
The Asinelli is climbed by a wooden staircase of nearly five hundred steps inside the tower, and the view from the top is the best in the city.
In late 2023 the Garisenda was fenced off so engineers could stabilize it, and access to the Asinelli has depended on that work since. Note This page does not tell you whether you can go up today: check the operator's own page before you go, and see booking ahead.
04Seeing them properly
The classic view is from via Rizzoli, walking east, when the two towers close the end of the street. The less obvious one is from below: stand close to the base of the Asinelli and look straight up.
