TOWER OF
PISA
The Tower of
Pisa Leaning Tower of Pisa or (Italian: Torre pendente di Pissa) is the steeple
of the Cathedral of Pisa. It was built to stand vertically but began leaning as
soon as construction began in August 1173. The tower height is 55.7 to 55.8
meters from the base, its weight is estimated at 14,700 tons and the
inclination of about 4 ° extending 3.9 m from the vertical. The tower has 8
levels: a base of arches with 15 columns, 6 levels with an external colonnade
topped by a belfry. The internal staircase has 294 spiral steps. The tower is
located in Pisa, a town in the Italian region of Tuscany and is the capital of
the homonymous province.
The Italian
government asked for help on February 27, 1964 to prevent its collapse, and
January 7, 1990 was closed to the public as a safety measure. In May 2008,
after the removal of another 70 metric tons of earth, engineers announced that
Tower had been stabilized so that it had stopped moving for the first time in
its history. He indicated it would be stable for at about 200 years. He turned
to allow entry to the public on June 16, 2001, after completing 10 years of
work.
The
construction of the Tower of Pisa was developed in three stages over a period
of 177 years. The construction of the first floor of marble began August 8,
1173, in a period of military success and prosperity. The first floor is
surrounded by pillars with classical capitals and arches.
After the
third floor was built in 1178, the tower leaned to the north, due to a weak
foundation (three meters) in an unstable subsoil. The design of this tower was
imperfect from the start and construction stopped for a century because to wars
between Pisans and the neighboring states. This period allowed the soil to
settle, otherwise the tower would have collapsed.
El 27 de febrero de 1964, el gobierno de Italia pidió
ayuda para prevenir la caída de la torre. Un conjunto de ingenieros,
matemáticos e historiadores se asignó al proyecto y debatieron sobre los
métodos de estabilización en las Islas Azores. Tras dos
décadas de trabajo, la torre fue cerrada al público en enero de 1990.
