Asinelli Tower
The Asinelli Tower initially had a height of ca. 70 m and was raised only later to the current 97.2 m (with an overhanging battlement of 2.2 m). In the 14th century the city became its owner and used it as a prison and small stronghold. It was later used by the scientists Giovanni Battista Riccioli (in 1640) and Giovanni Battista Guglielmini (in the following century) for experiments to study the motion of heavy bodies and the earth rotation. It is part of the Two Towers, which are the symbol of Bologna and the most prominent of the Towers of Bologna. The taller one is called the Asinelli while the smaller but more leaning tower is called the Garisenda. Their names derive from the families which are traditionally credited with having been constructed between 1109 and 1119. Their construction was a competition between the two families to show which was the more powerful family.
