Eighteen years after it was closed to the public for fear of collapse, the Leaning Tower of Pisa has been stabilized and declared safe for the next 300 years. The tilt has now returned to where it was in the early 19th century with a lean of 3.99 m due to help from cables, lead counterweights, and the removal of soil on the side away from the lean and the injection of cement into the ground to relieve pressure. The Committee to Safeguard the Tower of Pisa led the effort, which will complete the restoration this summer by cleaning the tower.
Consider the fact that the oldest parts of the tower are 900 years old, while the newest parts are 700. While the initial building of the tower on unstable clay might not have been an engineering marvel, the medieval architects who designed the building overcame the challenge of the building’s lean during its construction and were able to complete the building of the tower over two centuries. It is remarkable that the tower has stood as long as it has, and now, through the work of the Committee to Safeguard the Tower of Pisa, it will continue to stand as a testament to the architects and craftsmen who built it for many generations to come.
