Tower Attachment

Tower Attachment

Information About Leaning Tower Of Pisa Leanee

The Tower of Pisa was no leaning when it was constructed in 1173 and it was straight like a pole. It started to shift direction soon after construction because of poor foundation in addition to a loose layer of subsoil. Initially, it leaned to the southeast before the shaky foundation had started to shift leaning towards the southwest. After the period of structural strengthening in the beginning of 21st century, now the Leaning Tower of Pisa leans at an angle of 3.97 degrees.

In 1178, the shift in direction of observed for the first time when the construction had progressed further to the third floor. The tower's weight was very heavy for the three meter foundation that was built on a weak area of land. Besides the clear flaw in architectural design, the controversial history of the tower increased its problems.

The tower's construction was halted for nearly a century because Pisa was involved in wars with Lucca, Florence and Genoa. It is a good thing that this happened because it gave more time for the subsoil to settle below otherwise would have definitely collapsed.

For compensating the leaning position, the builders started to construct the upper floors with one side higher than the other one. This caused the tower to lean in the other direction. This unusual structure led to the tower being actually curved. In spite of these efforts, the tower kept of leaning.

The government of Italy started to plan a prevention of the complete collapse of the tower in 1964. However, a request was specifically put forward by the authorities to preserve the leaning position because of the tourism industry of the region.

After nearly two decades of strategic planning that involved engineers, historians and mathematicians, the stabilization efforts for the Leaning Tower of Pisa started in 1990. The tower was closed for the general public and the nearby residents were evacuated. For reducing the total weight of the tower, its seven bells which represented the seven musical notes in a major scale were removed and supporting cables were attached.

The ultimate solution for preventing the collapse of the tower was to straighten the tower slightly to a safer angle. For doing this, the 38 cubic meters of soil was removed from below the raised end. The tower straightened by 18 inches as a result placing it at an exact position that occupied it in 1838. The tower was reopened for the general public on 15 December 2001 after a decade of corrective reconstruction.

In May 2008, after removing another 70 metric tons of earth, the engineers announced that the tower had been finally stabilized and it would remain stable for at least 200 years.

At present, repairs are being continuously done for restoring the appearance of the tower from damage due to possible corrosion.

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