Leaning Tower of Pisa
Why is the leaning tower of Pisa such a great monument? Well I think, because it simbalizes pride and respect. When you hear of the tower most people think pride. It's an amazing building, it took over 500 years to build. The Leaning Tower of Pisa was finished 1964, and in 1964 the goverment needed more suggestions o keep the tower from collapsing(history.com).
On February 27, 1964, the Italian government announces that it is accepting suggestions on how to save the renowned Leaning Tower of Pisa from collapse. The top of the 180-foot tower was hanging 17 feet south of the base, and studies showed that the tilt was increasing by a fraction every year. Experts warned that the medieval building--one of Italy's top tourist attractions--was in serious danger of toppling in an earthquake or storm. Proposals to save the Leaning Tower arrived in Pisa from all over the world, but it was not until 1999 that successful restorative work began.(History.com)
On August 9, 1173, construction began on the Leaning Tower, which was to house the bells of the vast cathedral of the Piazza dei Miracoli, the "Place of Miracles." Pisa at the time was a major trading power and one of the richest cities in the world, and the bell tower was to be the most magnificent Europe had ever seen. However, when the tower was just over three stories tall, construction stopped for an unknown reason. It may have been because of economic or political strife, or the engineers may have noticed that even then, the tower had begun to sink down into the ground on one side.(History.com)
In 1360, work began on the bell chamber, the eighth and final story, and workers attempted to compensate for the lean by building the chamber at a slight slant with the rest of the tower. The tower was officially completed about 1370. Despite its growing lean, the building was acclaimed as an architectural wonder, and people came from far and wide to admire its 200 columns and six external arcades.(History.com)
The lean grew a little every year, but this only increased interest in the tower. A measuring from 1550 showed the top was 12 feet south of the base. In 1838, an architect was given permission to excavate the base of the tower, a portion of which had sunk into the ground. As he dug, water came sprouting out of the ground, and the tower tilted another few inches south.(History.com)
The original contruction for the lower was to be a Bell Tower. Nobody knows who the ororiginal person that came up with the tower, because that person lived over 100 years ago. It was finished in 1964, it was started about 500 years before. The reason it took so long was the goverment would add on to the tower. The tower has been through alot. During WWII the U.S. tryed to blow it up.(destination360.com)
The tower is in Campo dei Miaraed, Italy. The people that helped make and disign it where, GiouMidi Simone, Alessadro Della, Gheradeses, Benito Mussalini(destination360.com).They all had the idea of the tower to be a bell tower. thats what it was used as for a long time. Then it started sinking. So the goverment stopped using it as a bell tower, now they use it as an attraraction for tourists.
Finally, in 1999, engineers began a process of soil extraction under the north side that within a few months was showing positive effects. The soil was removed at a very slow pace, no more than a gallon or two a day, and a massive cable harness held the tower in the event of a sudden destabilization. Within six months, the tilt had been reduced by over an inch, and by the end of 2000, nearly a foot. The tower was reopened to the public in December 2001, after a foot-and-a-half reduction had been achieved. It is thought that those 18 inches will give another 300 years of life to the Leaning Tower of Pisa.