yyctimes

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    What's Hot

    Border agents seize $3.6 million in methamphetamine

    March 23, 2023

    $3.6M in meth seized from commercial vehicle at Coutts border crossing: RCMP

    March 23, 2023

    Alberta teen’s fatality inquiry to find solutions to protect children at risk: judge

    March 23, 2023
    • Home
    • Contact Us
    Facebook Twitter
    yyctimes
    yyctimes
    Home » The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens: Today in history
    yyctimes

    The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens: Today in history

    yyctimesBy yyctimesDecember 15, 2022No Comments7 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Telegram Pinterest Tumblr Reddit Email
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    Breadcrumb trail links

    1. World
    On this day in history in 2001, Italy's Leaning Tower of Pisa reopened to the public after being closed for security reasons in 1990.  Franco Origlia photo;  Getty Images.
    On this day in history in 2001, Italy’s Leaning Tower of Pisa reopened to the public after being closed for security reasons in 1990. Franco Origlia photo; Getty Images.

    Article content

    On this day in history in 2001, Italy’s Leaning Tower of Pisa reopened to the public after being closed for security reasons in 1990. A massive engineering effort, costing about $40 million, reduced the tower’s tilt and engineers say the tower’s stabilization is still successful – just over two decades since it reopened.

    Advertisement 2

    This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.

    Article content

    Here are some facts about the Leaning Tower of Pisa:

    Calgary Herald Headline News Banner

    Sign up to receive daily news from the Calgary Herald, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.

    By clicking the sign up button, you agree to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails or any newsletter. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300

    Thanks for subscribing!

    A welcome email is on its way. If you don’t see it, please check your junk folder.

    The next issue of Calgary Herald Headline News will be in your inbox soon.

    We encountered a problem signing you in. Please try again

    Article content

    • The tower began to lean soon after it was built in 1173. It was built in three phases over a period of almost 200 years.
    • Experts say the tower leaned due to soft ground that could not support the weight of the structure.
    • Four earthquakes shook this part of Italy, but none brought down the tower. Scientists say the surrounding soft soil affects the vibration of earthquakes and reduces shaking.
    • When the tower closed for repairs, its tilt reached the potentially dangerous level of 5.5 degrees. Repairs changed that tilt to 3.97 degrees. This meant the actual measurement of the tilt was reduced by 45 centimeters.
    • A bell chamber was added in the year 1372; seven bells were installed, with each bell representing a note of a major musical scale.
    • The bells were removed to take some weight off the tower as restructuring work began in 1990. Houses in the path of a possible fall were also evacuated, in case of an accidental collapse.
    • To reduce the tilt of the tower, about 70 metric tons of dirt was removed from under the side of the tower that sat higher than the others.
    • Experts now say the tower will be stable for around 200 years.
    • The tower is hollow inside, with nearly 300 steps required to climb to the top of the 56 meter tall structure.

    Advertisement 3

    This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.

    Article content

    A combination of two pictures shows Pisa's Leaning Tower before the stabilization works in 1992 (L) and at the end of the works in 2010 (R) showing a slightly different tilting level.
    A combination of two pictures shows Pisa’s Leaning Tower before the stabilization works in 1992 (L) and at the end of the works in 2010 (R) showing a slightly different tilting level. Photo by AFP photo/Getty Images/Fabio Muzzi.

    The following story about the tower appeared in the Calgary Herald, with restoration completed and plans made to allow the public to visit the tower again a few months later.

    A new twist: A restoration project adjusted the tilt of the famous Lean Tower

    Calgary Herald
    Sat 21 Jul 200l
    Byline: L. Brian Wingfield
    Date line: PISA, Italy
    Source: The Associated Press

    Mark Twain once said the Lean Tower of Pisa “the strangest structure of which the world has any knowledge.” For more than a decade, experts from around the world have been working to keep it that way.

    Officials have the Tower in 1990, when it leaned with a dangerous four meters from the perpendicular. In June, Italian and foreign engineers completed an 11-year, $27 million restoration project to reduce its tilt by 40 centimeters.

    Advertisement 4

    This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.

    Article content

    “It will take another 300 years for the lean to return to where it was in 1990,” predicts John Burland, an engineering professor at London’s Imperial College.

    Last month, Pisans toasted the reopening of their beloved landmark with a celebration that included an operatic performance by native son Andrea Bocelli.

    Gone are the support suspenders and flashy steel rings that strangle the Tower for much of the past decade. Still, visitors must wait until November to make the dizzying climb to the top as experts continue to study the structure’s stability.

    In the past, tourist groups filled the eight floors Towerstep This time only 30 individuals will be allowed inside at a time.

    Construction on the famous clock Tower began in 1173 Pisa was a powerful maritime republic. But it was a monument building on shifting ground. The Tower‘s south side began to sink before workers completed its third level.

    Advertisement 5

    This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.

    Article content

    The Tower was finished in 1360, still stubborn tilt – and all the more famous for it. Galileo is said to have performed his revolutionary experiments with falling objects from the intact belfry.

    The landmark is part of a trio of dotted buildings Pisa‘s Campo dei Miracoli, an enormous field of lush grass. The Duomo, its massive baptistery and the Lean Tower – all majestic, creamy marble structures – witness to the city’s former glory and epitomize the Romanesque architecture of northern Italy. The Museo dell’Opera del Duomo adjacent to the complex holds an impressive collection of artworks and artifacts from the three monuments.

    Just north of the Duomo lies the Camposanto, a cemetery that is believed to contain soil that was buried by Crusaders of the Holy Country. Although heavy damage by World War II bombing, the cemetery contains the remains of some of Italy’s most intriguing frescoes, including the Triumph of death, an unknown artist’s macabre depiction of Florence during the plague.

    Advertisement 6

    This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.

    Article content

    As one of Europe’s oldest university towns, Pisa has a strong intellectual tradition. The café-lined Borgo Stretto and the Piazza dei Cavalieri are often teeming with students. The prestigious Scuola Normale Superiore, founded by Napoleonic decree in 1810, occupies this piazza’s namesake palace.

    At the opposite end of the piazza rests the Palazzo dell’Orologio on the site where another Tower once stood Here in 1288, the Pisan government imprisoned Count Ugolino di Gherardesca along with his sons and grandsons on suspicion of treason and starved them to death. Dante immortalized the episode in the Inferno.

    Pisa‘s historic center is best seen on foot. Visitors can browse the Piazza delle Vettovaglie’s open-air market on weekday mornings. There is an ancient justify the second weekend of every month at the Ponte di Mezzo.

    Pisa is on the coast of Tuscany, a region known for its food, wine and pretty hill towns. Many people visit Pisa as a day trip from Florence, about an hour away by train.

    Tourists walk past the Leaning Tower of Pisa, free of scaffolding for the first time after 20 years of stabilization and restoration works April 26, 2011. According to legend, the tower was started in 1173 after a Pisan noblewoman left 60 coins to the city.  her will to build a magnificent belfry.  But after only three levels were built, the tower began to lean and sink into its foundations on one side.  Although panic-stricken architects and engineers have since tried to stabilize it, the tower has continued to tip.
    Tourists walk past the Leaning Tower of Pisa, free of scaffolding for the first time after 20 years of stabilization and restoration works April 26, 2011. According to legend, the tower was started in 1173 after a Pisan noblewoman left 60 coins to the city. her will to build a magnificent belfry. But after only three levels were built, the tower began to lean and sink into its foundations on one side. Although panic-stricken architects and engineers have since tried to stabilize it, the tower has continued to tip.

    Share this article in your social network

    Advertisement 1

    This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.

    Commentary

    Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourages all readers to share their opinions on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. We ask that you keep your comments relevant and respectful. We’ve enabled email notifications—you’ll now receive an email when you receive a reply to your comment, there’s an update to a comment thread you follow, or when a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

    Source link

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    yyctimes
    • Website

    Related Posts

    Border agents seize $3.6 million in methamphetamine

    March 23, 2023

    With economy on the rise, Alberta leads in interprovincial migration

    March 23, 2023

    Calgary Transit set to receive up to $32M for revenue shortfall

    March 23, 2023

    Braid: The Leader’s Dinner brings wads of cash to the UCP

    March 23, 2023

    Symend, one of Calgary’s top tech firms, cuts workforce by 25%

    March 23, 2023

    Smith addresses Calgary UCP supporters at Leader’s Dinner

    March 23, 2023

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    Don't Miss
    yyctimes

    Border agents seize $3.6 million in methamphetamine

    By yyctimesMarch 23, 2023

    Breadcrumb path hyperlinks Native information Revealed on March 23, 2023 • Final up to date…

    $3.6M in meth seized from commercial vehicle at Coutts border crossing: RCMP

    March 23, 2023

    Alberta teen’s fatality inquiry to find solutions to protect children at risk: judge

    March 23, 2023

    Stanford study finds largest recorded Alberta earthquake likely caused by oilsands wastewater

    March 23, 2023
    Our Picks

    Border agents seize $3.6 million in methamphetamine

    March 23, 2023

    $3.6M in meth seized from commercial vehicle at Coutts border crossing: RCMP

    March 23, 2023

    Alberta teen’s fatality inquiry to find solutions to protect children at risk: judge

    March 23, 2023

    Stanford study finds largest recorded Alberta earthquake likely caused by oilsands wastewater

    March 23, 2023

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from SmartMag about art & design.

    Our Picks

    Border agents seize $3.6 million in methamphetamine

    March 23, 2023

    $3.6M in meth seized from commercial vehicle at Coutts border crossing: RCMP

    March 23, 2023

    Alberta teen’s fatality inquiry to find solutions to protect children at risk: judge

    March 23, 2023
    New Comments

      Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.