Due Torri (Two Towers)

The Due Torri are Bologna's defining skyline image: the 97-metre Torre degli Asinelli and the dramatically leaning Torre Garisenda rising together at Piazza di Porta Ravegnana, where the medieval spokes of Via Rizzoli, Via Zamboni and Strada Maggiore converge in Emilia-Romagna's regional capital. The classic ground-level frame places both towers stacked against the sky from the small piazza, with the porticoed streets acting as natural leading lines. Because the towers run roughly north-south, the warm light of the final hour before sunset rakes across the western brick faces and lights the Garisenda's famous tilt, while the eastern facades fall into shade for strong tonal separation. The best results come on clear evenings from late spring through early autumn when the sun sets far enough north to catch the upper brickwork; winter light is flatter and lower. After dark the towers are floodlit and photograph well during the blue hour, when the sky still holds colour against the illuminated stone. The piazza is busy almost continuously, so a tripod set at the kerb edge or against a portico column avoids the constant pedestrian and cyclist flow; early morning offers the emptiest foreground. Climbing the 498 wooden steps of the Asinelli (timed-entry ticket, around 5 euros, the Garisenda is closed and currently under structural conservation) yields a rooftop panorama over the terracotta city toward the Apennine foothills. Street photography in the piazza is unrestricted, but recreational drone flight is prohibited over Bologna's historic centre without authorisation. The vantage point itself is street-side and steps-free; only the tower climb involves the narrow staircase.