'Leaning tower' in Italy on 'high alert' for collapse

[usonian]

Last edited Sat Dec 2, 2023, 01:01 PM - Edit history (2)

See below, there are eight (or more) leaning towers in Italy!

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/bologna-garisenda-leaning-tower-collapse/index.html



Julia Buckley, CNN
Published 12:23 PM EST, Fri December 1, 2023

It’s the ‘leaning tower’ that has stood tipsily – but steadily – for nearly 1,000 years. But now, the days of the Garisenda tower in Bologna, Italy, could be numbered. Following investigations last month, the city is instigating a civil protection plan for the “sudden and unexpected collapse of the tower,” which has dominated the Bologna skyline since the 12th century.

A protective metal cordon will be erected to “contain debris resulting from a possible collapse, to reduce the vulnerability of surrounding buildings and the exposure to the population, as well as blocking access to the off-limits area,” the city council said in a statement.

...

Gradual disintegration of the rock attached to the base, as well as vertical cracks in the bricks that make up the tower, have been noted since 2020 but have now worsened.

...

The council spokesperson said that once the cordon has been installed, new research will be undertaken in two phases: first to find a solution to stabilize the tower, and then to resolve the underlying problem.

More discussion and pictures at the link.

EDIT: In response to questions about leaning towers, there are apparently EIGHT of them in Italy!!
https://www.travelawaits.com/2678088/leaning-towers-italy/
Beyond Pisa: 7 Other Italian Leaning Towers Worth A Visit

When I travel, I often do so with a theme. For example, I try to find the best wine bars in a location, or the cutest museums, or the best sunsets. On one of my many trips to Italy, the “theme” was leaning towers. Who hasn’t heard of the most famous one, the leaning tower of the beautiful city of Pisa? But, as I discovered, there are several more leaning towers all over Italy, in such spectacular places as Rome, Venice, and Bologna.

Whatever the reason, these towers, most of them bell towers, aren’t standing up straight, whereas churches and palaces are, is a puzzle. Still, all of them are worth a visit and so are the cities they stand in. And yes, all of them, as inclined as they may be and sinking deeper every year, are still standing and waiting for you to take a look and wonder at their resilience.

Wikipedia lists 12.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_leaning_towers
Live and Learn!

[enid602]

1. Leaning tower

Never knew there was more than one leaning tower in Italy.

[Qutzupalotl]

2. If your Bologna tower leans for more than 8 centuries, see a doctor.

[Polybius]

3. How many leaning towers does Italy have?

[Celerity]

6. List of leaning towers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_leaning_towers

Italy

Torre delle Milizie, Rome, Italy
The campanile of Duomo di Caorle
The campanile (bell tower) of the Cathedral of Pisa (known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa), Pisa
The campanile of Duomo di Portogruaro
The campanile of San Giorgio dei Greci in Venice
The campanile of San Martino church on the island of Burano, Venice
The campanile of San Michele, Massino Visconti
The campanile of the church of San Matteo in Molinella
The campanile of San Michele degli Scalzi, Pisa
The campanile of San Nicola, Pisa
The campanile of Santo Stefano in Venice
Torre delle Milizie, Rome
The Two Towers (Asinelli and Garisenda towers in Bologna)

[Polybius]

9. Wow, thanks for the link!

Very interesting! I never knew that there were so many, even a half-size replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Illinois.

[Celerity]

10. yw

[Old Crank]

14. The list doesn't include this tower

San Benedetto church and the bell tower in Ferrara

I saw it by accident when I went there for a few days just before Covid hit.

[Celerity]

17. good find, add it to the article

[Old Crank]

18. Just added it to Wikipedia.

I feel like a real computer user now. My first wiki edit......

[Celerity]

19. congrats!!

[RubyRose]

4. They can't shore up the low side to prevent it from falling?

[ProfessorGAC]

5. Probably Too Late

I've been there. That tower is LEANING!
To my eye, it leans noticeably more that Pisa.
It's a shame, but this news doesn't surprise me.

[Old Crank]

15. I was just there

It is further over than Pisa. The biggest problem is the combination of foundation breaking up and brick work failing.
Don't know if it can be saved. Hope it doesn't take the tower next to it with it.

[ProfessorGAC]

21. Been There 2 Or 3 Times

For big cities, I spent more time in Milan, Naples, & Florence. Rome was more like first day in, last day out.
The place I spent the most time was around half-way between Florence & Rome. Much smaller city
But on about 15 of my visits, I arranged my schedule to jump in the car and see other towns.
Genova, Como, Venice, Sorrento, Pisa, Bologna, and so on.
Never got south of Naples, even though my while family is from either Calabria or Sicily.
40 something visits, and never got down there.

[Old Crank]

23. Milan next weekend.

Just for 3 nights. My wife is going to talk to a couple of people about a start up. Haven't made it south of Rome unless you count Sardinia last month. We live close. So we can do short train trips into Tyrolia.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

7. Any shoring would have to hold it together and hold it up

https://www.duetorribologna.com/discover/

[Hermit-The-Prog]

8. 27 sec. video from Torre Asinelli (the 2nd, taller tower)

[Mysterian]

11. Pretty ambitious tower

It's amazing it stood so long.

[ChazInAz]

12. Quite a few in Venice.

Considering that glorious old city's construction, it's not at all surprising.

[JoseBalow]

13. Then there's the Leaning Tower of San Francisco

Despite initial progress in the first phase of the so-called fix earlier this year, the sinking and leaning Millennium Tower in San Francisco is now tilting more to the west than ever, according to monitoring data reviewed by NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit.

The tower is currently leaning more than 29 inches at the northwest corner of Fremont and Mission streets, much of the added tilt occurring during the digging needed to prepare to support the tower along two sides.

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/series/millennium-tower/san-francisco-millennium-tower-more-tilting/3249034/

[LeftInTX]

24. Lots of homes lean in San Antonio

[Old Crank]

16. I was just there

and also in January.
the pair of towers is a symbol of the city. It is inescapable on tourist stuff and advertizing copy.

HAve also seen Pisa just last month and the tower in Ferrera which is also leaning.

It is amazing that tehy have stood for so long since all construction done when therse were built were done without caluculations. It was al knowledge passed down from master to aprentice.

[lame54]

20. It's a race...

Leaning Tower vs American Democracy

[Chainfire]

22. They should probably bring it down in a controlled method before it kills someone.