4 ms·

According to the article, "The slant is believed to be due to ground subsidence during the 14th century", although this doesn't answer the question of why so ma

by mvdtnz 3y ago

According to the article, "The slant is believed to be due to ground subsidence during the 14th century", although this doesn't answer the question of why so many in Italy?

kratom_sandwich 3y ago
Apparently this was an architectural fad in the middle ages: rich families built "skyscrapers" to show their wealth and look out for enemies. At one point, Bologna had more than 100 of these towers [1]. Today, the small town of San Gimignano [2] is well known for these structures which do not seem to have a name in English (in German, they are called "Geschlechtertürme" and have their own Wikipedia [3] entry). Also, I encourage everyone to visit Bologna, it's an amazing city! [1] this is a figure you will often read, but it seems to be a bit inflated - apparently it's double counting towers from different time periods [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Gimignano https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Gimignano [3] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschlechterturm https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschlechterturm
- HPsquared 3y ago
  See also the "Folly", a more generic term for a "vanity structure". https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folly https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folly
  - delfinom 3y ago
    Medieval epeens.
- Someone 3y ago
  From https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschlechterturm https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschlechterturm: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Bologna_Middleage.jpg https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Bologna_Middleage.jpg. That tower in the front a bit to the right of the center is seriously leaning, I estimate about ten degrees.
- hm-nah 3y ago
  I heart Bologna! Going back for sure.
toyg 3y ago
Because Italian cities invented "downtown density" - since Roman times, everyone wanted to live as close to the center of the urbe as possible, driving up real estate prices to the point where "statement" buildings had to be optimized for height. This is particularly true for Bononia where, at the height of its power in the 12th/13th/14th century, families competed to have the highest tower in a town that had literally dozens of them.

by mvdtnz 3y ago

According to the article, "The slant is believed to be due to ground subsidence during the 14th century", although this doesn't answer the question of why so many in Italy?

kratom_sandwich 3y ago

Apparently this was an architectural fad in the middle ages: rich families built "skyscrapers" to show their wealth and look out for enemies. At one point, Bologna had more than 100 of these towers [1]. Today, the small town of San Gimignano [2] is well known for these structures which do not seem to have a name in English (in German, they are called "Geschlechtertürme" and have their own Wikipedia [3] entry). Also, I encourage everyone to visit Bologna, it's an amazing city! [1] this is a figure you will often read, but it seems to be a bit inflated - apparently it's double counting towers from different time periods [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Gimignano https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Gimignano [3] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschlechterturm https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschlechterturm

HPsquared 3y ago
See also the "Folly", a more generic term for a "vanity structure". https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folly https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folly
- delfinom 3y ago
  Medieval epeens.
Someone 3y ago
From https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschlechterturm https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschlechterturm: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Bologna_Middleage.jpg https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Bologna_Middleage.jpg. That tower in the front a bit to the right of the center is seriously leaning, I estimate about ten degrees.
hm-nah 3y ago
I heart Bologna! Going back for sure.

toyg 3y ago

Because Italian cities invented "downtown density" - since Roman times, everyone wanted to live as close to the center of the urbe as possible, driving up real estate prices to the point where "statement" buildings had to be optimized for height. This is particularly true for Bononia where, at the height of its power in the 12th/13th/14th century, families competed to have the highest tower in a town that had literally dozens of them.