2001 : Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens
On this day in 2001, Italy's Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after a
team of experts spent 11 years and $27 million to fortify the tower
without eliminating its famous lean.
In the 12th century, construction began on the bell tower for the
cathedral of Pisa, a busy trade center on the Arno River in western
Italy, some 50 miles from Florence. While construction was still in
progress, the tower's foundation began to sink into the soft, marshy
ground, causing it to lean to one side. Its builders tried to
compensate for the lean by making the top stories slightly taller on
one side, but the extra masonry required only made the tower sink
further. By the time it was completed in 1360, modern-day engineers
say it was a miracle it didn't fall down completely.
Though the cathedral itself and the adjoining baptistery also leaned
slightly, it was the Torre Pendente di Pisa, or Leaning Tower of Pisa,
that became the city's most famous tourist attraction. By the 20th
century, the 190-foot-high white marble tower leaned a dramatic 15
feet off the perpendicular. In the year before its closing in 1990, 1
million people visited the old tower, climbing its 293 weathered steps
to the top and gazing out over the green Campo dei Miracoli (Field of
Miracles) outside. Fearing it was about to collapse, officials
appointed a group of 14 archeologists, architects and soil experts to
figure out how to take some--but not all--of the famous tilt away.
Though an initial attempt in 1994 almost toppled the tower, engineers
were eventually able to reduce the lean by between 16 and 17 inches by
removing earth from underneath the foundations. When the tower
reopened on December 15, 2001, engineers predicted it would take 300
years to return to its 1990 position. Though entrance to the tower is
now limited to guided tours, hordes of tourists can still be found
outside, striking the classic pose--standing next to the tower
pretending to hold it up--as cameras flash.
history.com/tdih.do
General Interest
2001 : Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=52288
1791 : Bill of Rights is finally ratified
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=7112
1961 : Architect of the Holocaust sentenced to die
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5602
1973 : Billionaire's kidnapped grandson found in Italy
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5603
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On this day in 2001, Italy's Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after a
team of experts spent 11 years and $27 million to fortify the tower
without eliminating its famous lean.
In the 12th century, construction began on the bell tower for the
cathedral of Pisa, a busy trade center on the Arno River in western
Italy, some 50 miles from Florence. While construction was still in
progress, the tower's foundation began to sink into the soft, marshy
ground, causing it to lean to one side. Its builders tried to
compensate for the lean by making the top stories slightly taller on
one side, but the extra masonry required only made the tower sink
further. By the time it was completed in 1360, modern-day engineers
say it was a miracle it didn't fall down completely.
Though the cathedral itself and the adjoining baptistery also leaned
slightly, it was the Torre Pendente di Pisa, or Leaning Tower of Pisa,
that became the city's most famous tourist attraction. By the 20th
century, the 190-foot-high white marble tower leaned a dramatic 15
feet off the perpendicular. In the year before its closing in 1990, 1
million people visited the old tower, climbing its 293 weathered steps
to the top and gazing out over the green Campo dei Miracoli (Field of
Miracles) outside. Fearing it was about to collapse, officials
appointed a group of 14 archeologists, architects and soil experts to
figure out how to take some--but not all--of the famous tilt away.
Though an initial attempt in 1994 almost toppled the tower, engineers
were eventually able to reduce the lean by between 16 and 17 inches by
removing earth from underneath the foundations. When the tower
reopened on December 15, 2001, engineers predicted it would take 300
years to return to its 1990 position. Though entrance to the tower is
now limited to guided tours, hordes of tourists can still be found
outside, striking the classic pose--standing next to the tower
pretending to hold it up--as cameras flash.
history.com/tdih.do
General Interest
2001 : Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=52288
1791 : Bill of Rights is finally ratified
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=7112
1961 : Architect of the Holocaust sentenced to die
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5602
1973 : Billionaire's kidnapped grandson found in Italy
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5603
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