Garisenda Tower, located in the Italian city of Bologna, which attracts a large number of international visitors yearly, has recently raised concerns that it could fall down.
Built in the 12th century, the tower has been closed to the public, and it is being surrounded by a 2.6-metre-thick barrier over fears that it could tumble, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
The Two Towers of Bologna, Garisenda and the Asinelli Tower are among the most famous ones in this city.
The tower of Garisenda is leaning at a four-degree angle; however, studies have identified changes in the tilt direction, with Bolognia’s council describing the situation as extremely concerning.
According to the municipality, the evacuation and cordon are the initial phase of the project, aiming to make the structure safer. Besides, the tower, as well as the plaza below it, is likely to remain closed for years while the building’s foundations are strengthened.
The Garisenda tower was built between 1109 and 1119. According to the government, the work to save the tower presents an extraordinary challenge that will need “commitment from the whole city as well as from those all over the world who love Bologna and one of its most important symbols”, according to a BBC report.
Bologna announced a total of € 4.3 million in works in order to shore up the tower, according to a report from AP. According to Mayor Matteo Lepore, the tower has leaned since it was built and has been a concern ever since.
We inherited a situation that over the centuries has caused this illness.
The mayor asked the government to petition to make the towers UNESCO World Heritage sites.
The tower of Garisenda is well known for a large number of internationals. It has been mentioned several times in Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy Le Rime, and Charles Dickes also wrote about it in his Pictures from Italy.
However, a spokesperson told CNN that the tower is not on the verge of immediate collapse.
We’re acting as if it’s the worst-case scenario, but that’s not to say it’ll happen. The precautions are currently on yellow alert rather than red, where collapse is imminent.”
He said, “We are acting as if it is about to collapse” however, nobody knows when that could be; it could be three months, ten years, or even 20 years.
If there was an imminent risk of collapse, we’d evacuate everyone. .
He told BBC the monitoring equipment delivers readings every 15 minutes, which means that they should get a warning of a collapse and can evacuate the surrounding area.