Italy’s iconic Leaning Tower closed off over fears it’ll collapse soon

Tourists and locals of the Italian city of Bologna have been warned that a 47 metre medieval tower could collapse.

Tilting at an ominous four-degree angle the 12th Century Garisenda Tower has had authorities in a panic who have now sealed it off from the public. Work has now begun on constructing a 5m high barrier, with the city council branding the situation “highly critical”.

Not quite as famous as its Pisa counterpart, the leaning tower is one of two towers that dominate the Bologna skyline. The 94m Asinelli Tower is twice the height and also leans, but not to the hair-raising extent of the Garisenda.

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Sensors picked up the initial leaning problem in October, which saw the site immediately cordoned off after inspections revealed deterioration in the materials that make up the tower’s base.

The city’s council is now doubling down to preserve the Garisenda, launching what it calls a civil protection plan that “represents the first phase of making it safe”.

Metal rockfall nets are also set to be installed around the tower. These, along with the barrier, are hoped to protect surrounding buildings and people in the event of a collapse.

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The barrier alone is estimated to cost at least €4.3m (£3.7m), with the council launching a crowd funder to help pay for the restoration efforts. It called the project an "extraordinary challenge" that would require "commitment from the entire city and from those all over the world who love Bologna and one of its most important symbols".

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Constructed between 1109 and 1119, the Garisenda’s tendency to lean was even raising medieval eyebrows, with its original height reduced in the 14th Century to prevent it falling over.

The historic tower is even so old that it was mentioned in Dante’s poem The Divine Comedy, which was completed in 1321.

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