Leaning Tower of Pisa

The Leaning Tower of Pisa was built to stand vertically but began leaning soon after construction started in August, 1173.

The height of the tower is 55 metres from the ground. Its weight is estimated at 14,453 tonnes. The current inclination is about 10%. The tower has 297 steps.

The government of Italy asked for help to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over on February 27, 1964.

On January 7, 1990 the Tower was closed to the public due to safety concerns.

Recently, reconstruction work was done to try and reduce the angle of the tower. The tower was reopened to the public on June 16, 2001 after the completion of ten years of work.

External Links

• http://torre.duomo.pisa.it
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pisa/