One of Bologna's famed twin towers 'tottering'

(ANSA) - ROME, OCT 23 - The smaller of Bologna's iconic twin towers, symbols of the Emilian capital, has been cordoned off due to increasing oscillations, local officials said at the weekend.
    The 48m Garisenda, which stands alongside the 97m Torre degli Asinelli in the ancient heart of Bologna, is in a worrying state of stability, Culture Undersecretary Lucia Borgonzoni told local daily QN Monday.
    "The data on the oscillations are concerning to us," she said.
    "And perhaps, from the municipal scientific committee that is in charge of the tower's conservation, there has been an underestimation of the situation".
    Borgonzoni said measures would now be taken to shore up the tower and make it safer.
    She said some five million euros were available from Italy's massive post-COVID EU-funed National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) for the purpose.
    "The government has taken the field to save the iconic Bologna tower," she said, "after the city council wasted time".
    The Garisenda, like the Torre degli Asineli, has gone down in local and national lire and was even mentioned by Dante.
    The two towers are survivors of the countless ones that medieval Bologna boasted as wealthy families vied for bragging rights about who had the tallest one. (ANSA).