A nine-hundred-year-old tower in the Italian city of Bologna known for its significant lean is to be encircled by a 5m tall protective metal barrier after investigations revealed it was at “high alert” of possible collapse.
A 27-page report by a scientific committee monitoring the site stated that experts believe that "safety conditions no longer exist to operate on or around the tower, except within the framework of a civil protection plan.”
Experts noted an “unexpected and accelerated trend” of “crushing” compression at the base of the tower, with gradual disintegration of stone cladding and expanding cracks in masonry.
City officials have responded by cordoning off the surrounding area and beginning work on a protective metal cordon which will “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 cordon will include rockfall protection nets specifically designed for the site that are made of metal and fixed to the ground.
The 48m tall Garisenda tower has dominated the Bologna skyline since the 12th century. It leans at an angle of four degrees, slightly more upright than the Leaning Tower of Pisa’s five degrees.
Despite the developments, a spokesperson told CNN that the tower is not at immediate risk of collapse, labelling current precautions as a “yellow alert” rather than red.
“We’re acting as if it’s about to collapse, but nobody knows when that could be – it could be three months, 10 years, or 20 years. If there was an imminent risk of collapse we’d evacuate everyone,” he said.
Monitoring equipment delivers readings every 15 minutes, meaning that officials should get warning of a collapse, and can evacuate the surrounding area in time.
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