The museum thought it might be a fake, but when Gigante visited to see the astrolabe firsthand, she realized it was not only an authentic 11th-century instrument—one of the oldest yet discovered ...

Officials have secured the area around one of two 12th Century towers that have become symbolic of the northern city of Bologna, fearing its leaning could lead to collapse.

The astrolabe dates from 11th-century Spain and has origins that are Islamic, Jewish and Christian. ... Federica Gigante of the University of Cambridge examines the thousand-year-old Verona astrolabe.