What happened to Italy's Skyscrapers?

Check out Manta Sleep here tinyurl.com/4bdyubnf and make sure to use the code Presentpast for 10% off your order!
Join us in New York on the 20th of June! thedispatch-nyc.eventbrite.com/
And check out Lorenzo's other work here! lancaster.academia.edu/Lorenz...
If you want to see these beautiful city models go to these museums:
www.bolognawelcome.com/en/pla...
www.bolognawelcome.com/en/pla...
800 years ago Italy had skyscrapers, what happened to them?
00:00 - 02:31: Intro
02:31 - 04:15: Italy in medieval times and Bologna now
04:15 - 07:17: Chapter I Vendetta
07:17 - 08:41: Chapter II Rise
08:41 - 12:19: Chapter III Fall
Hi there, my name is Jochem Boodt. I make the show The Present Past, where I show how the present has been influenced by the past. History, but connected to the present and fun!
Every episode I show how history has influenced and made a thing, an idea or event in our present time.
I make different content. You can find me on:
TikTok: / thepresentpast
Instagram / the_presentpast
Twitter : / @thepresent_past
Logo by: / multicolor_junkie
If you have an idea for an episode please fill in this form:
www.dropbox.com/request/nMMMS...

[@ThePresentPast_]

Check out Manta Sleep here tinyurl.com/4bdyubnf and make sure to use the code PRESENTPAST for 10% off your order! Sources: docs.google.com/document/d/15D76PN61wWtAtd5rPuNkgrW5tIhzK7LX36jcuib8qe4/edit?usp=sharing

[@seanrawlinson]

Tried PRESENTPAST and it keeps asking to enter a valid discount code.

[@ThePresentPast_]

@@seanrawlinson Oh no! Have you tried without caps?

[@seanrawlinson]

@@ThePresentPast_ Tried in lowercase "presentpast" as well. Didn't work. I am using the Australian store. I'd be disappointed if it's only discounted in certain regions.

[@seanrawlinson]

@@ThePresentPast_ I tried "presentpast" and it didn't work either. I live in Australia so I hope it isn't only discounted in certain regions. Could you find out from the sponsor?

[@ThePresentPast_]

@@seanrawlinson Ah that could be the case :s thnks for flagging it, I'll get in touch and get back to you.

[@NovikNikolovic]

"Mr. Berlusconi! A second Bugatti hit the second Tower."

[@federicosaitta5900]

* a second Leonardo da Vinci's self-made helicopter

[@matteorossi1172]

Buratti is french

[@NovikNikolovic]

@@matteorossi1172 1. That's the point of the joke, that a foreign terrorist used a foreign car. 2. Bugatti is Italian anyway. The founder, Ettore Bugatti, was literally Italian and formed his automobile company in Alsace-Lorraine in 1909 (which was not even French at the time). 3. The Bugatti brand isn't even fully French TODAY because it's still a subdivision of Volkswagen (German brand).

[@matteorossi1172]

@@NovikNikolovic my bad

[@Rem_NL]

the joke was fun, the rest of your responses was pure aids

[@spicecaptain7279]

Finally, a science channel that explains the given question in about 10 minutes. I got so tired of sci-pop channels making 50-minute videos talking about something that can be explained in 5 minutes.

[@SD-vy7gj]

So your happy with it being twice as long as it needs to be?

[@bonk1049]

​@@SD-vy7gjHe's happy that they're 5 times shorter than they usually are

[@Scarletraven87]

Isn't this the same? It dragged for 10 minutes what it explained in 10 seconds at at 11:10

[@Sumit_Girhe]

Poor attention span

[@Tyger_Burrington]

Omg not a content creator creating content crazy idea go read some research the work of researches if you want something simply just explained this guy took a question with a 10 second answer and gave you a 12 minute one because he added more he made content so when someone takes a question with a 10 minute answer and takes 50 minutes it's because there making content and they are not researchers not that they don't do research but there goal is to turn what's out there into more not just read it out loud so smooth brain understand

[@russiancamel3365]

I visited Bologna last year and wondered this exact thing, the images online didn’t make sense to me because a skyline that vast would have surely dominated European consciousness and imagination, and yet it had been largely forgotten. Whilst it’s undoubtedly impressive for the time, I’m glad you put the towers of Bologna in their regional context and explored the sources behind these claims

[@Novusod]

These towers aren't actually skyscrapers. They were just ornamental bell towers and most of them didn't even have bells because they were built purely for visual appeal. They were empty and nobody lived inside them. In the time before elevators nobody wanted to live inside a tower because climbing 200 or 300 stairs multiple times a day is a pain in the butt. There was no water up there either so people would have had to carry buckets up the stairs too.

[@vistalover9607]

You’re totally underestimating the power of human collective forgetfulness and overestimating the power of memory. Just so anywhere in southern Italy and it’s absolutely ridiculous what was left and forgotten until recently is not still

[@therealdannymullen]

Just so we're clear, it is believed it only took 3 generations for Brits to forget that Rome had built the roads in Britain. It just didn't get talked about and taught to their kids. If America fell (well, if all civilization fell, lol), my kids *might* teach their kids about the government and the highway dept, but unless specifically asked, I don't see why they would.

[@zztopz7090]

​@@Novusod Then they served some other purpose. Maybe they were docks for zeppelins.

[@jamescheddar4896]

they would have had enough structural engineering knowledge to figure out they start falling down if they're made of stone

[@Graf-Fischgen-von-Fischgesicht]

Damn i think i waa there in assasin creed

[@ThePresentPast_]

Same :)

[@AbelTajima-mj5yx]

Welcome to Arstotzka!!!

[@advleon]

San Gimignano was in Assassin's Creed 2

[@Thesupermachine2000]

I saw it in assassins creed after being there on a schooltrip and had the exact opposite feeling😅

[@thevillager8339]

That would be a very interesting game, ​@@AbelTajima-mj5yx

[@gregscorner8996]

this feels like a legit historical television programme great work

[@dintadoba4808]

Tower Papa: It's 1269, jet plane not reale, it's not gonna hurt yo Tower babino: Che c*zz! Mama mia! It's Da Vinci's flying machine!！

[@Aeiroq]

This is the videos goal so it’s winning 🎉

[@amogusamongus]

💀​@@dintadoba4808

[@Journal_Haris]

No way! LORENZO was my lecturer! Also....man I wanna marry these 3d animations holy sht

[@ThePresentPast_]

Whuuuut no way haha

[@danielfield2570]

Fellow Lancaster alumni here, great to see the uni getting good publicity.

[@rogink]

Mostly flawless English, although his pronunciation of 'countryside' was a little off. Country and county had very different sounds :)

[@Journal_Haris]

@@danielfield2570 represent ✊️✊️ I'm graduating this summer!

[@TheAtomoh]

​@rogink English pronunciation sucks

[@benmcreynolds8581]

A few minutes into this video and i really hope you one day make a video diving into the Kawloon walled city. I honestly wish it was still around. It's fascinating how people built that over time in any way they could. No regulations, safety measures. Just necessity. If people could see it today they would legitimately think they were in the lower levels of the world of Blade Runner..

[@ThePresentPast_]

My friend Neo already made the best video on this topic, go check it out!

[@benmcreynolds8581]

@@ThePresentPast_ oh I've seen that! It really is an amazing video on that topic. Both of you guys make such awesome quality content. I'm always interested in seeing what you upload. Keep up the great work. Glad I found this channel

[@JSnow-st7hm]

The entire reason it existed was because of the fact it used to be a Chinese fort which people then squatted on, then China claimed to control that specific area. The British colonial government left the area alone, then after a bunch of treaties and other diplomatic agreements, and the handover of Hong Kong, the Chinese let the British deal with the Walled City (This might not be accurate)

[@worldcomicsreview354]

There was an arcade / shopping centre in Tokyo that was made to resemble the Kowloon Walled City, but it closed around the time of Corona.

[@JSnow-st7hm]

@@worldcomicsreview354 Wasn’t that around 2010?

[@son3mendo]

This kind of structure is called casatorre or casa torre, and was very common in Italy. In Florence, for example, there are still 50 case torri "scapitozzate", that means shortened, the original height was around 50-60 meters). Some of them were reduced for various reasons, but in the end, when one family (Medici) took control of the city, imposing their rule, all of them were reduced for political reasons. If you walk around the town, the former towers are pretty easy to spot.

[@richmanifesto1090]

Even if it was less than 100, for a peasant who's probably never seen a third floor it'd be absolutely mind blowing

[@Franckdatank]

If he’d never seen a lighthouse then yes

[@Faustobellissimo]

I've read somewhere that these towers were built in vertical to avoid taxation, which was based on land surface.

[@screwstatists7324]

The nobility must have seen this happening and just thought like, alright, that's pretty cool. Respect dude

[@vez3834]

Sounds plausible considering it's what happens with buildings nowadays. Should be careful when trying to project such ideas too far back or forward though.

[@JackhammerJesus]

"Avoiding taxes" and "fertility cult" is what historians say when they do not know the answer.

[@savioblanc]

Wasn't that the reason why Manhattan also started making skyscrapers? Lack of space and taxation?

[@truesosense7722]

"Work smarter not harder"

[@AFNick]

Bologna is probably the most historically interesting city in Italy that is not popular among tourists. Also, this video and the towers reminded me of Assassin's Creed 2.

[@ThePresentPast_]

such an amazing game

[@frawgeatfrawgworld]

Got pickpocketed 50 euros as I was paying for a train ticket there…

[@Professicchio]

It also has the oldest running university in the world.

[@Jin88866]

The only place where you can still see how a medieval Italian town looked like is San Gimignano, the towers are still there. But it's really a shame that Bologna which had more than 70 and Firenze which had 150 towers no longer have them😢😢😢 They'd be the most spectacular places ever

[@stefanpuschel3958]

Also some south German cities copied this trend from the other side of the alps. But similarly they were mostly torn down, shortened or the cities were bombed. Only Regensburg, has a large number of Towers with 2 in their original height

[@severinejuillet8413]

I've found this page about the european medieval towers, very interesting de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschlechterturm

[@OffGridInvestor]

A terrible amount of old buildings were wrecked due to bombing during the war. Disappointing to say the least

[@realtalk6195]

@@OffGridInvestor In a few hundred years people will forget about the atrocities of the Axis (and the Allies) just like every other centuries-old atrocity is irrelevant to us. But the US military bIowing up historical architecture, many intentionally, will not be forgiven by historians.

[@simonpusateri3527]

I just have to say I love the length of your videos. Many channels have inflated their watch times and these are very clean cut and direct. I'm sure you could kill it on something longer as well, but you seem to have really dialed in this 10-12 min range

[@ThePresentPast_]

next video probably around 30 mins 👀

[@simonpusateri3527]

@@ThePresentPast_ looking forward to it!

[@NicosRap]

Bologna! My favorite city in the world! I have never fallen in love with a city like I did with Bologna.

[@ThePresentPast_]

It is such a nice town!

[@runawaysailing2032]

Absolutely, we visited last year. It is the most vibrant city in all of Italy and probably all of Europe.

[@Benxion1]

its beautiful i visited it not too long ago

[@joshbrown2217]

Lived there for 3 months and absolutely loved it. The culture of the city is so beautiful and so different from the rest of Italy.

[@Krzych88]

You can finally watch Bologna in Champions League next season.

[@natebassett]

Umberto Eco (Italian Intellectual) would probably have called on the French thinker Baudrillard to describe this progression from representation to representation and simulation to simulation until we reach a simulacra, or a replica of a thing which never existed

[@brunorossibonin788]

It's kinda like a telephone game

[@space__idklmao]

Lorenzo’s combination of posh RP and Italian inflections makes for a very interesting and unique accent

[@peterfireflylund]

“Cowntry sayid” ;)

[@Trentrick_Lamar]

It almost reminds me of a German one but not exactly

[@barbzfurbernie4560]

I had the exact same question. After I read the Wikipedia page, and was unsatisfied with the answer, I never delved deeper. Thank you for actually following through and spending the time to inform all of us. It is a sincere, noble contribution to humanity.

[@ThePresentPast_]

My pleasure :)

[@stanislavsetevoy3332]

Amazingly high quality video. This is the level of large TV channels, and even better. Thank you.

[@unternehme]

The census by Gozzadini was based on ancient cadastre records. Therefore he did indeed double or triple count towers that changed name due to the change in ownership but were actually the same building. Moreover, not all towers he counted existed at the same time, as many collapsed or were demolished even in the middle age.

[@themistoclesmachinator3764]

Molto probabilmente le 300 torri censite erano in realtà un centinaio, 24 delle quali ancora esistenti. Molte di quelle più antiche e basse furono inglobate nei palazzi che col tempo si ingrandivano e probabilmente, essendo alte anche poco più di 20 metri, non venivano considerate tali.

[@HistoryDose]

Your work keeps getting better and better. Well-paced, interesting, and impressively edited. Great stuff, Jochem. ~Chris

[@SantiagoItzcoatl]

I love visiting Bologna. it's a lovely universitary city, full of culture and very nice people.

[@puppetguy8726]

Here in Sweden a castle with a 20 metres high tower was considered really massive! Very interesting to learn of the towers of Bologna! 😊

[@redguy2489]

ITALYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY🔥🔥🔥

[@Fanro3]

so no ones going to talk about "Some nobles say the length of the tower matters. Others say it's what you do with it" quote

[@jonnynice8366]

no

[@danilo7218]

Excellent video. I absolutely love the 3d animations. I was reading on these towers just a couple of weeks ago I can safely say my thirst for more in depth information about them has been quenched. Thank you

[@Gigigity]

I've heard that those tall towers are Keeps, the centerpiece of a castle, which in Bologna's case was the nobles who built tall keeps in the city to show off their wealth and status

[@TheWoodenShoe1997]

Met you at Skate the other day, Jochem. Cool that you're engaging with your audience even more in New York now. Love the videos you've been putting out! Keep it up

[@producedbypodcast]

Been following you since the first videos. The progress you've made is crazy. Keep it up, Jochem, love your videos!

[@ThePresentPast_]

Appreciate that!

[@impieux531]

Beautiful video! Extremely well done, thoughtful, and impressive!!

[@webstercat]

The true history of our world has been hidden. My Lunch Break is another great resource. Thanks

[@TIGERZY2K]

Bologna the old Italian city was like the New York city of Medival Europe....a city filled with skyscrapers.The Italian architects were almost a millenia ahead of the Automation dependent architects of present World.

[@mijkolsmith]

That 3Dmodel of the bologna skyline is unbelievable. Crazy that it was real, in a 13th century city no less

[@soliloquy5995]

I lived in Bologna in the summer of 2017, and you & Lorenzo still taught me so much! Super underrated Italian city with awesome history and amazing food--cheap too!

[@JonasStuart]

Fascinating! I've always been intrigued by these towers and wanting to know more!

[@nicolasbautista3599]

As a bolognese it warms my heart to see my city in this gorgeous video, thank you so much!

[@ThePresentPast_]

My pleasure, love your city!

[@danrandall3302]

This is what the History channel should've been

[@YourCapybaraAmigo_17yrsago]

But where would Man vs Ice go?

[@realtalk6195]

Even at its peak, the History Channel only covered a narrow scope of topics. The usual stuff you get from American interest in history. Very little medieval stuff in general.

[@Yora21]

Bologna is pretty cool. But when you want to get an impression of a medieval town with many big towers, San Gimignano is the place to go. One of the biggest one you can even climb.

[@simoncattle1434]

Really interesting video. Excellent research. Thank you very much.

[@strafrag1]

Fascinating history. Thanks for posting. With male ego involved, one can be sure that each man who had his tower built, wanted to have the biggest one.

[@ionescuflorin7307]

Just like in the Emirates etc today

[@samgrillo1]

wow, this was so well researched and beautifully presented, great work

[@upsidedownChad]

That's was an awesome watch. Thank you for making this movie!

[@sebastianalegre7148]

Solid work; great job!

[@anon0815de]

Love Bologna! Just spent my Birthday there with my family.

[@widewan7585]

Thanks for making this!

[@TurkishToprak]

GREAT video man, thanks for actually going to bologna!

[@bjzaba]

Great video! Really appreciated learning more about these towers.

[@ahuels67]

Just found the channel and i got a feeling i will stay here and binge watch your videos for a few hours now. Thanks

[@patfinn2697]

Awesome video! Thank you!

[@Arsenico971]

That's the city where I live. :) Come back in the summer and enjoy our open air cinema in the city's major square. It lasts 2 months from mid June to mid August and it's free, you'll get a different movie every evening, both classics and newer stuff, always in original language and with subtitles, so both locals and tourists can enjoy it. When they showed "Once upon a time in America" there were more than 10.000 people watching it.

[@ne0ne0]

Sometimes the gems of the internet appear on your timeline. You got yourself one more subscriber! Up to 1M for you!

[@urbaneplanner]

Fascinating - I had actually wondered about this as well and it makes sense the popular images are rather exaggerated

[@Miamcoline]

Super interesting and worthwhile research and video. Thank you. For great historical work, you get a subscribe!

[@joaorebelorodrigues1360]

Great work!

[@saintjacques8137]

On the topic I strongly recommend Schwerpunkt's Italian Communes playlist: that 's mind-blowing

[@paranormalplantations]

Wow. Great video . ❤

[@ReaperOfSouls83]

Always so much history and culture in Italy

[@begonnne]

I admire your persistence in searching for the truth about something people just take for granted.

[@tonygunk6167]

The change in thumbnail actually worked on me bro good job

[@TheHairyHippy1]

enjoyed this thanks

[@karegekevin9320]

the ad segment was everything for me

[@FordFourD-aka-Ford4D]

I wish you had shot the footage of the newer model from a lower angle. Like so "table level" that you block out some of the lower half of the frame with the table itself. *To really simulate a human perspective in that time period*

[@barbarakhristi]

I enjoyed this different look at history.

[@TrintleJr64]

Fantastic vid

[@chrisw443]

Wow there were dozens of skyscrapers! That is amazing.

[@SisterSunny]

THANK YOU! I'm glad someone finally actually delved into the meat of this story, and I'm glad as hell it wasn't completely fabricated (despite the less impressive reality)

[@Nooticus]

Great video

[@dianespears6057]

Very interesting. Thank you.

[@MarcelloAntestaco]

You may want to make a follow up about Pavia, the city of 100 towers. It's my home town and you probably know a lot about it already but there's so much history there and very few people know nothing about it, and it's a shame. I have a good contact there if you want to do this seriously

[@terrybrady1644]

Thank you . 😊 the drawling seemed suspect .

[@grifter25]

In the church of San Teodoro, in Pavia, there is a renaissance fresco by Bernardino Lanzani that show exactly the skyline of a medieval Italian city.

[@ahuels67]

Love shows like this, super comfy, make me forget that im in southern IL surrounded by flat farm fields as far as you can see.

[@YourCapybaraAmigo_17yrsago]

Yeah I but I love the Midwest. Guess it's just in my blood. I love the open plains. It's rad and fly in it's own way.

[@annabelleecho8056]

A very rude person might say Bologna is just another word for Baloney... but there seems to be a lot of buried history that people are still uncovering.

[@alvaroc6326]

Great use of the historic method. People tend to take pictures at face value in social media when they should do the absolute opposite.

[@shantanusapru]

Fascinating!!

[@umzalas7960]

Amazing video

[@sixmilsix]

100 meters/300 feet - that's the height range of a modern 30 story building. Amazing.

[@peterwerrenrath1112]

Love the ad!

[@Andi-vc8nv]

Really pretty interesting

[@PolloBello86]

as a person from Bologna FINALLY WE GET SOME ATTENCTION

[@jeremysart]

Quality content

[@JumpmanJames]

This was very fun to watch. Thank you.

[@breppbrepp]

Fantastisch in elkaar gezet

[@laurent4819]

Haha it was cool getting a cameo from horses

[@h.szymanski]

Man Carrying Thing as well, I think...

[@Andrea-lj4jg]

Love this video! If you like towers why don't you come to Siena too? we used to have about one hundred towers here too, you'll find them (or what's left of them) fascinating.

[@ThePresentPast_]

Love that city too

[@thestudentofficial5483]

"To answer these questions i knew i had to get there" not a sentence i quite expected from KZbin documentary.

[@N1originalgazza]

Very interesting video, thank you! I heard San Gimignano, (an Italian town in Tuscany, southwest of Florence) is famous for having many towers, some still standing.

[@_2JAY2]

really interesting

[@ashurgeorge4604]

This brings new meaning to full of Bologna.

[@MonsieurChapeau]

12:03 @ThePresentPast - this video was very high quality content and I would love to watch the Dispatch, perhaps you could repeat the event in Amsterdam for those who cannot travel to NY? Or invite your Dutch fans to watch them together, maybe in the new IDFA pavilion if they see a connection to screening what are basically short history documentary programmers. It’s a lot of random ideas and asking a lot, but I thought I would put the ideas out there. Thank you for this insight into medieval Italy and Bologna 😊

[@ThePresentPast_]

Next year London might be an option!

[@leogd7666]

i live there, so nice to see the city i live in get covered! :)

[@matts7377]

The book by John Grisham The Broker is based in Bologna, in the book the history of the towers is talked about.

[@riden30]

1:05 you had to go there to find the answer? Crazy, I just found a 12 min. KZbin about this very thing and got all the answers I needed!

[@iptamenoslagos]

1. Once again thank you very much for you awesome work. 2. Which island did you visit in Greece? 3. Is there any chance to do a European video night as well? :)

[@_DENZEL_]

Awesome video, I really appreciate the investigative journalist approach, the flow was a little erratic but great video!

[@benmcreynolds8581]

I really appreciate the perspective Italians aquired towards towers. They are impressive from a physical stand point but I personally think towers are one of the crappiest designs that caught on in our modern era. To me they represent everything wrong with our current economy, system, structure, society. I feel like we would be MUCH better off if we put in all of that effort into building creative, adaptive, intertwined cities and towns. Rather than putting all this effort into making a bunch of singular independent isolated islands in the sky towers all over the place..

[@russiancamel3365]

Whilst I understand your point, especially about medieval towers that were mere prestige projects, towers do serve a purpose in housing large amounts of people in a dense environment. I spent years in a Chinese apartment compound, each tower was able to hold 60 families and there were about 100 towers in this community alone, along with public spaces and amenities

[@DinoBaldi]

You have to come in Pavia for an episode 2 !

[@rothn2]

Man, I'm out of town on the 20th. Catch you next time!

[@metalema6]

Even those two main remaining towers are currently in danger of falling down. That gives you an idea of the stability of these structures...

[@Karl_Jayce]

❤ from Germany 🇩🇪