“Leaning Tower of Bologna” closed for Tourists

NEW DELHI, Dec 2: The authorities have closed all the roads leading to the famous Garisenda tower in Italy’s Bologna, also known as the ‘leaning tower,’ because of the risk of it collapsing due to excessive leaning, according to reports.

The 150-foot tall tower has been steady for nearly 1,000 years. But the tallest tower in the town has been leaning at an angle of 4 degrees since the 14th century when officials tried to remove the top of the building with the aim of stabilising it. The iconic Tower of Pisa leans at 5 degrees.

Over the years, Italy has done extensive work to maintain the integrity of the tower. But now the tower is leaning excessively and has forced city officials to bring into action a civil protection plan. According to reports, the tower is at risk of a “sudden and unexpected collapse.”

A protective 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 areas,” the city council said in a statement.

The warning was issued by a scientific committee which has monitored the site since 2019. They have installed sensors that measure the movements of the ancient tower. The committee said that the readings in October 2023 triggered alarm bells.

The ‘high alert’ warning states that an “unexpected and accelerated trend” of “crushing compression” of the base tower has been observed. It adds that the cracks in the stones used in the base could expand to the bricks above. As soon as the report came out, civic officials shut down the area around the tower and closed all roads leading to it.

(Manas Dasgupta)