When I travel, I often do so with a theme. For example, I try to find the best wine bars in a location, or the cutest museums, or the best sunsets. On one of my many trips to Italy, the “theme” was leaning towers. Who hasn’t heard of the most famous one, the leaning tower of the beautiful city of Pisa? But, as I discovered, there are several more leaning towers all over Italy, in such spectacular places as Rome, Venice, and Bologna.

Whatever the reason, these towers, most of them bell towers, aren’t standing up straight, whereas churches and palaces are, is a puzzle. Still, all of them are worth a visit and so are the cities they stand in. And yes, all of them, as inclined as they may be and sinking deeper every year, are still standing and waiting for you to take a look and wonder at their resilience.