Pisa tower

Press, 10 November 1981, Page 22

Pisa tower

When something special happens in the world, it is remembered by people far more than things that maybe more important. Everybody knows that in the city of Pisa, in Italy, there is a tower that “leans.” The tower is quite amazing. It is built of white marble. The walls are 3.9 m thick at its base. It has eight storeys, which is about the height of a modern 15-storey building. There are stairs built into the walls, which lead to the top. Those people who climb the stairs get a great view of the city, and of the sea, which is quite a distance away. At the top, the tower is five metres out of the perpendicular. That means, it leans over by five metres. What makes it lean? Nobody really knows. Of course it was not supposed to lean. It was intended as a bell tower for the cathedral which is nearby, and was begun in 1174 and finished in 1350. The foundations of the tower were laid in sand, and this may explain why it leans. But it did not suddenly begin to lean — this began to happen when only three of its storeys had been built. So the plans were changed, and construction continued. In the last one hundred years, the tower has leaned another 30cm. Some engineers say it should be called the “falling tower,” because they believe that it will eventually fail over.