The literary legacy of the Torre della Garisenda

In the medieval period, Bologna was a city of towers, with a skyline featuring approximately ninety-hundred towers. These structures served as strategic and military assets, while also serving as architectural symbols of the prestige of the families that owned them. Among the most characteristic of these structures was the Torre della Garisenda, built in masonry around 1109 by the Garisendi, a prosperous family of Guelf faith exchangers.

The tower was originally about sixty meters tall, but its height was reduced following structural issues in the foundation. These foundation problems, caused by poor mechanical capacity, led to an increased tilt of the structure. Although overshadowed in height by the nearby Torre degli Asinelli, the Garisenda gained a significant literary echo. The poet Dante Alighieri mentioned the tower on two occasions: first in a sonnet expressing regret for being absorbed in the vision of the Garisenda, and second in the Commedia, where it is used as a point of comparison.

After being shortened by twelve meters, the tower changed hands many times, eventually being owned by the Corporazione dei Drappieri and later by families such as the Ranuzzi, Malvezzi Campeggi, and Raimondo Franchetti, before passing to the comune of Bologna. Today, the tower is constantly monitored by the comune of Bologna with the support of the University of Bologna. Studies have concluded that the increase in tilt is due to deformations in the foundation ground and the degradation of the masonry base. Recent interventions have been made to increase the load-bearing capacity of the base, and a containment ring made of double-level containers was installed to secure the area.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons