Leaning Tower of Pisa
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is the Campanile,
or Bell-Tower, for the Pisa Cathedral
complex. It was built to stand vertically but began leaning soon after
construction started in August, 1173.
The height of the tower is 55 metres from
the ground. Its weight is estimated at 14,453 tonnes.
The current inclination is about 10%. The tower has 297 steps.
The government of Italy asked for help
to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over on February
27, 1964.
On January 7,
1990 the Tower was
closed to the public due to safety concerns.
Recently, reconstruction work was done to try and
reduce the angle of the tower. The tower was reopened to the public on June 16, 2001 after the
completion of ten years of work.
