THIS DAY IN HISTORY
LEANING TOWER NEEDS HELP:
February 27, 1964
On February 27, 1964, the Italian government announces that it is
accepting
suggestions on how to save the renowned Leaning Tower of Pisa from
collapse. The
top of the 180-foot tower was hanging 17 feet south of the base, and
studies
showed that the tilt was increasing by a fraction every year. Experts
warned
that the medieval building--one of Italy's top tourist attractions--was
in
serious danger of toppling in an earthquake or storm. Proposals to save
the
Leaning Tower arrived in Pisa from all over the world, but it was not
until 1999
that successful restorative work began.On August 9, 1173, construction
began on
the Leaning Tower, which was to house the bells of the vast cathedral
of the
Piazza dei Miracoli, the "Place of Miracles." Pisa at the time was a
major
trading power and one of the richest cities in the world, and the bell
tower was
to be the most magnificent Europe had ever seen. However, when the
tower was
just over three stories tall, construction stopped for an unknown
reason. It may
have been because of economic or political strife, or the engineers may
have
noticed that even then, the tower had begun to sink down into the
ground on one
side.In recent years, it has been determined that the tower's lean is
caused by
the remains of an ancient river estuary located under the building. The
ground
is made up in large part of water and silty sand, and one side of the
heavy
marble building began gradually sinking into the ground as soon as the
foundation was laid.The 95-year pause in construction allowed the
building to
settle somewhat, and the new chief engineer sought to compensate for
the tower's
visible lean by making the new stories slightly taller on the short
side. In
1278, workers reached the top of the seventh story, and construction
was halted
again. By that time, the southward tilt was nearly three feet.In 1360,
work
began on the bell chamber, the eighth and final story, and workers
attempted to
compensate for the lean by building the chamber at a slight slant with
the rest
of the tower. The tower was officially completed about 1370. Despite
its growing
lean, the building was acclaimed as an architectural wonder, and people
came
from far and wide to admire its 200 columns and six external
arcades.The lean
grew a little every year, but this only increased interest in the
tower. A
measuring from 1550 showed the top was 12 feet south of the base. In
1838, an
architect was given permission to excavate the base of the tower, a
portion of
which had sunk into the ground. As he dug, water came sprouting out of
the
ground, and the tower tilted another few inches south.In 1934, Benito
Mussolini,
the dictator of Italy, decided that the Leaning Tower was an
inappropriate
symbol for masculine Fascist Italy. In an attempt to reverse the tilt,
engineers
drilled holes into the foundation of the tower, and some 200 tons of
concrete
was poured in. The tower abruptly lurched another few inches south.In
the 1950s,
the heavy medieval bells in the tower were locked tight. In 1964, the
Italian
government publicly asked for suggestions on how to save the tower from
what
they believed was a forthcoming collapse. Two years later, a
restorative attempt
involving drilling was aborted when the tower tilted another fraction
south. In
1985, another boring attempt likewise caused an increase in the lean.
In 1990,
the Italian government closed the Leaning Tower's doors to the public
out of
safety concerns and began considering more drastic proposals to save
the
tower.In 1992, in an effort to temporarily stabilize the building,
plastic-coated steel tendons were built around the tower up to the
second story.
The next year, a concrete foundation was built around the tower in
which
counterweights were placed on the north side. The use of these weights
lessened
the tilt by nearly an inch. In 1995, the commission overseeing the
restoration
sought to replace the unsightly counterweights with underground cables.
Engineers froze the ground with liquid nitrogen in preparation, but
this
actually caused a dramatic increase in the lean and the project was
called
off.Finally, in 1999, engineers began a process of soil extraction
under the
north side that within a few months was showing positive effects. The
soil was
removed at a very slow pace, no more than a gallon or two a day, and a
massive
cable harness held the tower in the event of a sudden destabilization.
Within
six months, the tilt had been reduced by over an inch, and by the end
of 2000,
nearly a foot. The tower was reopened to the public in December 2001,
after a
foot and a half reduction had been achieved. It is thought that those
18 inches
will give another 300 years of life to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The
public was
hard-pressed to notice any difference in its famous lean.
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